Jammu, March 10 (IANS) Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan on Sunday chaired a top-level security review meeting on J&K which was attended by senior officers of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), paramilitary forces, J&K Police and intelligence officials of the Union Territory.
During the meeting, central and UT intelligence agencies, as well as heads of CRPF, BSF, and J&K Police, briefed the Home Secretary on the latest security scenario in the UT.
Sources said the main focus of the security review meeting was on three things, the security of the annual Amarnath Yatra that will start on July 1, the safety of Kashmir to Kanayakumari rail services, likely to begin anytime soon and the prevailing security situation in Jammu region.
“The security review meeting was already scheduled, but it was advanced to be held on Sunday after the bodies of three civilians of Kathua district killed by the terrorists were found in higher reaches of Billawar tehsil.
The three civilians including Yogesh, 32, Darshan 49 and the 14-year-old child Varun were out to join a marriage party when they went missing on Thursday from their village. The family reported their absence on Friday and with the help of drones, the security forces found their bodies on Saturday.
Union Home Secretary chaired two sessions of the meeting held at the convention centre in Jammu. He also reviewed the security situation with all 20 district SSPs in one session.
Those who attended the meeting included officers of IB, CRPF, BSF, and MHA officials handling J&K, the J&K chief secretary, J&K home secretary, DGP, ADG CID and IGPs of Kashmir and Jammu divisions.
Sources said the Home Secretary convened the serious concern of the central government about the presence of terrorists in the higher reaches of the Jammu division, who should have been neutralised during the winter months due to climatic conditions but are reported to be still active in those areas.
Another point which was discussed, sources said, was that “most of terrorists in the upper reaches are believed to be Pakistanis and their survival in extreme winter is not possible without some local support.”
The officials, according to the sources, were told that “the MHA is concerned about the reports of terrorists’ presence in the upper reaches of Kathua, Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar, Reasi, Rajouri and Poonch districts. They need to be neutralised.”
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh confirmed terrorist involvement in the killings. In a post on X, the Union Minister said, “The brutal killing of 3 youths by terrorists in Bani area of district Kathua is extremely sad as well as a matter of concern. There seems to be a deep conspiracy behind spoiling the atmosphere in this peaceful area”.
“We have discussed this matter with the concerned officials. The Union Home Secretary himself is reaching Jammu so that the situation can be reviewed on the spot. I am confident that such incidents do not happen again and people’s confidence remains strong,” Dr Singh wrote.
It may be recalled that Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the J&K security thrice in February month, while Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also chaired two back-to-back security review meetings, one in Srinagar and the other in Jammu last month.
–IANS
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