Militancy on the Rise As J&K Gets New DGP

In a major reshuffle in the Jammu and Kashmir police department, Director General of Police (DGP) S. P. Vaid was “unceremoniously” removed from his post and appointed as the Transport Commissioner. The development comes days after the relatives of 12 policemen were abducted by the Hizbul Mujahideen from south Kashmir including the districts of Pulwama, Anantnag, Shopian. The abductions were seen as part of the apparent “retaliation” by the militant outfits to the arrest of the father of a Hijb. Commander. All the 12 family members were set free after the kin of the militant was released. Vaid was posted as J&K police chief in December 2016, and was set to retire next year in October.

Also read: Relatives of Policemen Released After Police Let Father of Hijb Commander Free

Sources told Newsclick that the abductions had stunned the top brass of the police department, who were further questioned by the Centre. “The top brass of the police department was left embarrassed and the rumours of a major reshuffle within the department had taken place,” said an official, on condition of anonymity. However, Vaid had refuted such claims. The speculations gained weight after Additional Director General (ADG) of CID, Abdul Gani Mir was replaced by B. Srinivas.

Another official told Newsclick, “The reason for the removal of the DGP may have been the recent incidents of the family members of militants being detained, and the abduction of policemen’s relatives in retaliation. Possibly, the new governor has made the change. This is the second big change in the police department by the new governor. He recently changed the ADG in charge of the police intelligence. The new appointment of Vaid is also embarrassing as he has been relegated to a junior post as per his experience.”

Meanwhile, Dilbag Singh, IPS, DGP Prisons, shall serve as the acting DGP till a regular arrangement has been made. The statement issued on Thursday read, “Shri Dilbag Singh, IPS (JK:1987), DGP (Prisons) shall hold the charge of the post of DGP, J&K, in addition to his own duties, till a regular arrangement has been made.” This new development had evoked several reactions with the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioning the decision to remove Vaid.

His tweet read, “Changing the DG is prerogative of administration but why a DG as temporary arrangement? The current DG won’t know if he is going to stay and others who would like his job will be trying to replace him. None of this is good for @JmuKmrPolice.” 

In another tweet, he said, “There was no hurry to replace @spvaid. He should have been changed only when a permanent arrangement had been worked out. @JmuKmrPolice has enough problems without having to deal with confusion of leadership.”

Meanwhile, commentators believe that the approach to handle south Kashmir (where militancy has been constantly rising) by harassing the family members of militants without any evidence has costed the security forces heavily. It has also given “legitimacy” to militancy on the ground. Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo had released an audio on WhatsApp on the evening of August 31 which was directed at the security forces and the abduction. In the audio message, Naikoo says, “We have tolerated a lot till this day and tried to reason with the Kashmiri police, but they did not budge. We kidnapped them, so you know we have the capacity to reach your families. This time we have let your families go unharmed, but this will not happen again. Their next time will be as your actions are.”

As per the reports, militancy has increased in Kashmir. “For the first time in nearly a decade, the number of listed militants in Kashmir has crossed 300,” journalist Majid Jahangir had reported.

“These major developments have taken place in the supervision of the new governor. This also significantly underlines the fact that the new governor is pliable, and he is trusted to carry out BJP’s new agenda in the valley. As far as we have learnt, the Centre was not happy with S. P. Vaid. He was the same officer who had launched “Operation All Out” to decimate militancy and he is the same officer under whom the locals were used as human shields. This has led to the rise in militancy and forced more youth to pick up arms,” said a local, on strict basis of anonymity.