Disquieting! Delay in strengthening police in the Rajouri-Poonch range by the government may prove incurable in the future; Minorities feel shaky; strong police heads require

Disquieting! Delay in strengthening police in the Rajouri-Poonch range by the government may prove incurable in the future; Minorities feel shaky; strong police heads require

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH/RAJOURI: Repeatedly published by “POONCH TODAY,” policing in the Rajouri-Poonch range remained under a big question mark due to the inability of police to demolishing the revival of the terror network and its supporters as the repeated acts of terrorism are haunting everybody in the border region, but the government seems to have not taken this huge public concern into account.

Although the reins of J&K police have come into the hands of a most capable and professionally strong DGP, R R Swain (IPS), who has started implementing his idea of professional policing at the grass-roots level, the letdown of ground policing in the Rajouri-Poonch range, particularly in the Poonch district, has led to an unenthusiastic public perception of the police. A few weeks ago, some people in the Degwar belt near Poonch town pasted some sensitive posters directing the minority communities to leave the area, and the incident shook the nerves of everybody. Police officials were seen totally unaided in solving the case; rather, they were seen giving it another look without any logic. There are reports that senior officers used to play safe every time through their body gestures, indicating their unhappiness with their subordinate staff, as they had failed to meet their expectations in detecting various crimes. The other day, a blast near a temple in Surankote also raised a big question mark on the intelligence network of Poonch police, as the incident shattered the confidence of the minority community. Due to the repeated acts of terror in the Rajouri-Poonch range, an impression has been generated in the region that the police setup, particularly in the Poonch district, is not professionally sound in tackling internal security concerns and needs strong heads. Although, after some sensitive terror-related incidents in Rajouri, police officials were seen showing their ground presence through some social media platforms to give the impression that police officials are active, their failure to solve sensitive issues of internal security concerns is questionable. It is pertinent to mention here that Poonch police still have not solved the Shri Dashnami Akhara blast case, which took place on August 13, 2016, in which fifteen people were injured, most of them pilgrims of the Shri Budha Amarnath Yatra. After the Shri Dashnami Akhara blast, the recent blast near Surankote temple is an eye-opener for all security agencies. It’s a professional failure that, even after more than seven years, Poonch police officials have failed to crack the Shri Dashnami Akhara blast case, and now the latest Degwar poster incident and Surankote temple blast case are here to haunt the intelligence network of Poonch police. Moreover, no inquiry has yet been started to find out on what basis a number of FIRs on some sensitive crimes against the nation were cancelled during the last few years, under different types of influences. A prominent person from the minority community, pleading anonymity, told “POONCH TODAY” that “minorities are feeling shaky due to the recent developments in the region. We thought that the militancy was over in the Rajouri-Poonch range, but unfortunate events during the last two years, including some recent ones, and the failure of the police in tackling these incidents strongly have added huge frustration and fear to our lives.” He further said, “People have full faith in the leadership of DGP R R Swain, but I am sorry to say that the DGP needs to place the right men for the right job in this border region; otherwise, things may become worse in times to come going by the recent incidents as the nation is heading for parliament elections and there is every chance of Pakistan and its supporters playing foul in disturbing the peace.” An attempt was made earlier by “POONCH TODAY” to contact SSP Poonch on the pasting of posters in the Degwar area, but the chair in question preferred to remain silent due to the reason best known to him. A resident of Surankote, in the latest blast case, said, in a lighter vein, “Poonch sirf bhagwan bharose hai(Poonch is on the mercy of God only). The presence of strong police officers in the region is necessary to tackle emerging challenges from an internal security point of view, and people hope that LG Manoj Sinha and DGP R R Swain, who are committed to eliminating all forms of terrorism and other crimes, will take this public concern into consideration. The recent terror incidents in the region have shown that OGWs are still active at different places in the region, but the police have failed to detect their network. Even in the Kalakote encounter, there were sufficient reports of local support for the terrorists. It is important to mention here that a former intelligence chief, during a TV interview after the Bhatadurian attack, said that the sensitive areas of Poonch district have a strong presence of OGWs, and in this connection, the police officers heading important chairs of the district, including the Mendhar sub-division, have failed to identify and arrest OGWs of Pakistan due to their brittle approach. The recent terror-related acts in the Rajouri-Poonch range have lowered the morale of the people, especially the minority communities, as they allege that police have failed to crack major crime cases, particularly in the Poonch district, due to their amateurish approach. Meanwhile, people have condemned the recent Kalakote terrorist attack, in which five army soldiers sacrificed their lives. In Poonch, huge tributes were paid to Hav Abdul Majid, who also sacrificed his life for the nation in the Kalakote encounter. At Poonch, people from every section of society attended his last rites. As the situation is disquieting in the region, particularly in the Poonch district, it’s high time for the government to nip the evil in the bud by posting professionally strong officers; otherwise, the writing is on the wall as people are seeing these incidents as major ones and not just pin-pricks, said prominent intellectuals having sharp eyes on day-to-day affairs from an internal security point of view.