SRINAGAR: Former Director General of J&K Police SP Vaid has spoken up for the first time after he was unceremoniously removed from the top post last month. After serving his chair for nearly two years, Vaid was transferred in September this year and posted as state transport commissioner through an order issued at midnight.
Vaid, a 1986 batch IPS officer, was posted as Special Director General of J&K Police at a time when the state was in the throes of a huge unrest. He took charge two months after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wani in 2016.
“I took charge as DGP Law and Order on September 10, 2016, two months after the Burhan Wani killing. The Valley was in turmoil. That was a trying time. It was a challenge for the police to be able to visit every village. It took some time, but I think it was done systematically,” Vaid told in an interview to a national TV Channel.
Vaid said the biggest challenge was local boys joining militancy. That was a painful thing to have happened, one of the most hurtful things I saw during my tenure.
“My only disappointment will be that I did not succeed completely in stopping boys from joining militancy. If my son picks up the gun and dies in an encounter, how will I feel? I used to think as a father. Local boys joining militancy remains a big challenge in Kashmir,” he said.
He said in 2017, around 70 boys were saved from joining militancy and J&K police feels the satisfaction of saving those 70 families. “I think 20 to 25 boys who had actually joined militancy were brought back through the appeal of their parents. That was a big achievement, though I wanted to do much more. I think even saving one life is worth it.”
Slapping PSA and taking legal action against the people who were resorting to violence and detaining hardcore people who were instigating under PSA were better methods than killing people.
“At encounter sites, militants fire at us. But we use all means at our disposal to persuade them to surrender, instead of killing them. We would appeal to them and also get their families so that they could persuade them to surrender,” he said. (PTK)
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