SRINAGAR : Former director-general of police, Jammu and Kashmir, K Rajendra Kumar has said that in the course of time the security forces did not utilise the ‘surrender policy’ in engaging with militants, effectively.
“We have 25,000 surrendered militants in the state. But, we failed to engage with them successfully. Even if 10% of them rethink of joining militancy, it would be a big problem for us. Therefore, we need to work on this aspect of reform and engage with them”.
Kumar was delivering a lecture on “issues facing Jammu and Kashmir police” at the Pune Union of Working Journalist.
The lecture was organised by Sarhad, an NGO, which runs schools and colleges for Jammu and Kashmir students in the city.
The 1984 batch IPS officer said India did not have a ‘clear roadmap’ to resolve pressing security issues in the state.
“Pakistan has a clear policy on Kashmir, even after a change in its government. But, India does not have a similar approach towards Kashmir. We keep changing our approach, time and again, which is not a positive sign for the state,” said Kumar, who was DGP for two-and-a-half years.
He said militant groups have been using social media effectively in radicalising the youths in the state. “Unfortunately, we do not have a strong counter mechanism to tackle social media threat,” he said.
Kumar expressed concern over the change in ideology of the people. “A few decades ago, people in Kashmir used to say that neither do they want to join Pakistan nor stay with India. They were demanding ‘Azadi’ (freedom) but now they have changed their approach. Now, they want to convert Jammu and Kashmir into a ‘caliphate’ state,” he said.
He said lower rank police personnel were most ‘vulnerable’ but their commitment towards duty had been phenomenon. The J&K police, he said, should have a strong approach towards law and order. (PTK)
