Srinagar becomes new epicentre for terror activities in J&K
Darpan News Desk IANS, 07 Sep, 2021 11:35 AM
New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS) Despite the number of terror incidents has gone down by 40 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir as compared to the last year, the capital city Srinagar, has become the new epicentre of terror activities in the last one year, leaving behind some south Kashmir districts.
A source in the security set up said that Srinagar alone recorded 16 terror-related incidents, 21 per cent of the total of 75 incidents reported from across the Valley till so far this year, leaving behind the traditional hotbed of terrorism of Pulwama, Anantnag and Shopian.
These revelations are part of an internal assessment of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) which has been playing a crucial role in anti-terror operations in the UT and also intelligence agencies which were sent to the government.
According to the report, "Srinagar emerges as the hotspot of terrorists. Incidents (are) being driven by TRF and the capital town has also reported the maximum security forces' casualty in action this year. Out of the 15 casualties reported across the Valley this year, eight came from Srinagar."
Srinagar has also recorded the highest number of recoveries of IEDs and out of 8 IEDs recovered so far, three are from Sringar.
"Reflective of increasing violence, out of 75 terrorist incidents reported in the Valley this year, Srinagar accounts for the maximum number of incidents (16, 20 per cent) which is significantly higher than its share in the previous years (2019-6 per cent, 2020-5 per cent). This year, however, a shift in focus is clearly discernible," the report revealed.
"Another worrying trend is the propensity of terrorists to use IEDs in Srinagar. Out of 8 IEDs recovered this year, 3 were in Srinagar. It is assessed that 8-10 terrorists are active in the district (Srinagar)," it added.
The security forces have assessed that increased terror activities in Srinagar is a result of the recruitment drives initiated by the Pakistan based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)'s front - The Resistance Front (TRF)'. Its commander Abbas Sheikh is named as one of the top 10 terrorists by the J&K Police and has been frequently spotted in Srinagar with an aim to recruit militants and develope a strong network of hardcore OGWs (overground workers), an official in the security forces said.
In his address in the Assembly's special session to mark the commemoration of 400th Prakash Purb of Guru Tegh Bahadur, he stressed that the Sikh faith is distinguished by the tradition of martyrdom to uphold principles and righteousness given to "us by our great Gurus".
A total of 40.8 per cent people have shown satisfaction with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the five states going to the polls next year, while 41.3 per cent showed dissatisfaction with him, as per the ABP-CVOTER-IANS BATTLE FOR THE STATES - WAVE 1.
According to the ABP-CVOTER-IANS BATTLE FOR THE STATES - WAVE 1, the goodwill of the Union government remains the same except in Punjab, which is up against the Centre over the three farm laws.
The survey found that overall, 13.3 per cent said the 'country is moving forward but not my life', 29.3 per cent said the 'country is moving forward and my life too', while 5 per cent said that 'life is improving but the country is in poor state'.
A day earlier, Customs officials had recovered 495 grams of gold valued at Rs 24.14 lakh from a passenger on his arrival from Dubai. The gold was concealed in various items like a blender, facial cream box, and sandals. A case for smuggling of gold was registered. Further investigation is in progress, an official said.
The survey, conducted in the five poll-bound states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, revealed that about 51 per cent respondents in Punjab are not satisfied at all with work of the MLA of their respective areas.
