Srinagar, Jul 27: As the Centre’s decision to rush about 10,000 central forces personnel to the Kashmir Valley raised many a brows here, Additional Director General Police (ADGP) Law and Order Muneer Khan Saturday clarified the incoming paramilitary forces will replace those personnel of training companies who are deployed on various duties since last year’s Urban Local Body elections here.
Appealing people to not heed rumours, Khan said “around 200 training companies are presently performing duties in the valley which are to be replaced in phased manner. More training companies will be replaced in due course of time with fresh forces. Presently around 200 companies of paramilitary are deployed in Kashmir.”
He said “reality is that 200 training companies of paramilitary forces were in Kashmir since the commencement of Urban Local Body elections. They had come from outside state and are performing their duties since then without any break, and were overstretched.
“Now they will be replaced by these 100 companies and it is a routine exercise. In the first, 100 companies will replace the training companies and in next phase another 100 companies will replace the remaining of the training companies,” Khan said.
Asked to about the public fears that link the additional deployments with the possibility of revocation of Article 35-A, ADGP Khan said, “It is a rumour and there is no truth in it. These apprehensions are totally unfounded.”
Pertinently, the Union Home ministry had ordered deployment of 100 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) on July 25 on an “immediate” basis.
Officials said that 100 more companies are expected to be sent to the Valley.
One CAPF company comprises about 100 personnel.
The latest units being deployed here will be drawn from the CRPF (50 companies), SSB (30) and ITBP and BSF will contribute 10 each, officials said.
The ministry has said that these personnel will be deployed to strengthen the counter-insurgency grid and law and order duties in the Kashmir Valley, they said.
They are being air-lifted and sent by trains, officials said.
It is understood that the new units will reinforce the strength of the security forces already present in the Valley who are conducting the annual Amarnath Yatra and carrying out counter-insurgency operations daily, they added.
The troops will be addition to about 65 regular battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the Valley and over 20 other battalions of other forces deployed to conduct the Yatra that will end on August 15.
One CAPF battalion has about 1,000 personnel.
