IN VALLEY, 3,000 TURN UP TO TAKE TEST FOR POLICE JOB

A recruitment drive by the police in Kashmir on Wednesday evoked an “overwhelming response”, with nearly 3,000 young men and women turning up for it, a spokesman of the force has said.

“The youth in Kashmir are showing overwhelming response to the ongoing Jammu and Kashmir police recruitment process,” the spokesman said.

“Today (Wednesday), the recruitment rallies were held in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and north Kashmir’s Bandipora district where hundreds of young men and women thronged the recruitment venues,” he added. On the first day of the drive, 1,674 candidates participated in Anantnag, while 1,295 turned up in Bandipora, the spokesman said adding the recruitment rallies will continue in Bandipora on Thursday and for next three days in Anantnag. “The candidates who qualified the physical test today will have to appear in the written examination for the final selection,” the spokesman said.

The large turnout for police recruitment assumes significance as on Wednesday militants killed a young Kashmiri army officer, Ummer Fayaz, in an apparent attempt to dissuade the locals from joining the armed forces.

Ummer Fayaz, described by top army officials as a promising officer, was commissioned in the army’s Rajputana Rifles regiment in December last year and was availing the leave for the first time to attend a marriage, from where he was abducted by militants. The killing caused anger among locals.