Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Week after cops’ killing, over 20 SHOs get bulletproo­f cars

- Azaan Javaid azaan.javaid@hindustant­imes.com

A week after six Jammu and Kashmir policemen, including an officer, were killed in an ambush by militants, over 20 station house officers (SHO) posted in sensitive areas of the Valley will get bulletproo­f vehicles for movement.

“Owing to the level of threat that exists to local police officers, it was imperative that they travel their areas in these vehicles,” a senior J&K police officer told HT, adding that the vehicles will be given to officers in parts of south Kashmir and other disturbed areas of the Valley.

According to reports, 29 policemen have been killed in the last one and a half years in militant attacks in Kashmir.

Last week, six policemen, including SHO Feroz Ahmed, were killed in a militant ambush at Thujwara in Achabal area of south Kashmir.

Following the attack, senior police officials decided to transfer bulletproo­f vehicles given to them by the government to the SHOs for the time being, the officer said.

The move comes amidst reports that the slain officer Feroz Ahmed, a native of the region, had requested for a bulletproo­f vehicle several times before his death due to threat posed by the militants.

SP Vaid, director general of police, without specifying, said a lot of bulletproo­f vehicles were destroyed during the 2014 floods and during the agitation that followed the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wani.

“J&K police is sufficient­ly equipped to deal in the current situation, but a lot of our vehicles were destroyed during the flood and in the 2016 agitation, but we are trying our best to safeguard our officers, and at the same time, fight militancy,” Vaid said.

In a veiled reference to Pakistan, India has asked the UN member states to find the source from where the “anti-government elements” in Afghanista­n were getting weapons, training and funds to fight one of the biggest collective military forces in the world.

“We see a growing tendency of treating violence in Afghanista­n as a routine occurrence. Brutalitie­s by terrorist and criminal networks are ignored under the label of anti- government elements or a consequenc­e of a civil and political conflict. In doing so, we appear to be failing in asking some crucial questions,” India’s Permanent Representa­tive to the United Nations Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said on Wednesday.

Mincing no words, Akbaruddin, speaking at a Security Council debate on Afghanista­n, questioned where are these anti-government elements were getting their weapons, explosives, training and funding from.

“Where do they find safe havens and sanctuarie­s? How is it that these elements collaborat­e with the world’s most dreadful terrorists in killing and brutalisin­g the Afghans?,” he asked. PTI

 ?? REPRESENTA­TIONAL IMAGE ?? The move comes amid reports that the slain officer Feroz Ahmed had requested for a bulletproo­f vehicle several times before his death due to threat posed by the militants
REPRESENTA­TIONAL IMAGE The move comes amid reports that the slain officer Feroz Ahmed had requested for a bulletproo­f vehicle several times before his death due to threat posed by the militants

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