Special Team Dispatches to J&K to Probe Recent Civilians Killings by Terrorists

Representative Image (TIH Archives)

Following new directives from Home Minister Amit Shah, a special intelligence operations team that had returned to Delhi from Kashmir on Saturday has been deployed to the Valley again to investigate recent civilian murders.

According to reports, Shah has directed all involved authorities to figure out why the events keep happening, and the team would collaborate closely with DGP Dilbagh Singh.

Two non-locals were murdered and one was severely injured in indiscriminate fire by terrorists in the Wanpoh region of Kulgam district on Sunday.

In the last two days, there have been three attacks against non-local residents.

Two non-local labourers, a street seller and a carpenter were slain in separate incidents on Saturday. According to J&K Police, the terrorists fired indiscriminately. Residents of Bihar's Banka district and Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur were among the fatalities. Virendra Paswan, 56, was one of four civilians who were killed by terrorists in Srinagar in the first week of October.

Attacks against civilians, especially those who have migrated to the valley from other states, have been on the rise in the valley. The ongoing practice of selective killing has sparked widespread fear. The J&K leaders claim that the assaults are being carried out to tarnish the image of Kashmiris.

A specialized intelligence unit that has never been in charge of operations in the Valley will now be in charge of Kashmir. These activities will be handled by an additional director.

According to News18, the Centre has prepared a pan-India plan to deal with terrorism following a top-level meeting chaired by Shah, especially in light of the recent targeted killings in Jammu and Kashmir, amid fears that terror outfits based in Pakistan will create a law-and-order issue for the next few months and target civilians and Jawans through proxy outfits.

Various agencies have been instructed to collaborate not just for J&K but also for other states such as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab, according to sources.

Anti-terrorist units in various states have been instructed to work quickly on graded inputs so that terrorists' accomplices in other areas of the nation can be apprehended.

Intelligence agencies have been given a larger responsibility, with sources claiming that the quantity of daily intelligence inputs and signals has grown by over 40%.

The multi-agency centre is carefully monitoring and coordinating with all of its members, which include Central Intelligence, investigative agencies, security forces, and the Delhi Police.