Jammu
Lack of professional policing in the Rajouri-Poonch range has become a big internal security concern Part 1 , No solid output on Dhangri, BG, DKG terrorist attacks, Drugs everywhere; shifting of DIGs, SSPs not worked well
Lack of professional policing in the Rajouri-Poonch range has become a big internal security concern Part 1 , No solid output on Dhangri, BG, DKG terrorist attacks, Drugs everywhere; shifting of DIGs, SSPs not worked well
SALIL RAINA
(POONCH TODAY NEWS)
POONCH/RAJOURI: They say that an ounce of action is worth a ton of theory, and J&K police implemented the same strongly on the ground for nearly three decades when the country’s’ elite force wreaked havoc on militancy in J&K, especially in the Poonch-Rajouri region, with a major achievement on the anti-terrorism front with the full support of the Indian Army, paramilitary forces, and intelligence agencies. 
The sensitive region of Poonch and Rajouri witnessed the posting of some professionally strong police officers over the years who played a big role in the elimination of militancy and its terror support infrastructure strongly as well as tactfully by implementing the strategy of tactful deployment and coordination engineering. In addition to fighting hard against terrorism and other law and order issues, J&K police also won the hearts and minds of the people due to its pro-people activities in the sensitive twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. Although the militancy was claimed to be finished in the Jammu region by the government, especially in the Poonch-Rajouri belt, as terrorists shifted their operations to the Kashmir Valley, the sudden revival of terrorism during the last few years in the Jammu region, with Reasi and the Poonch-Rajouri belt as the main targets, started giving sleepless nights to the security forces on the one hand and a sense of insecurity among the minorities on the other. During the recent past, the Poonch-Rajouri region did not witness the posting of strong police officers in important places, including the operational front; as a result, the region started witnessing a revival of terrorism and massive drug terrorism in the region. In between, a few strong police officers were posted, but they were shifted within no time due to unknown reasons by the government. However, a few police officers posted at important places in the Rajouri-Poonch range misused their official positions and started grinding their own axes from drug-related cases, bovines, and other renowned sources of income from hotels, crushers, and illegal mining, including targeting influential persons through touts with malafide intentions, and likewise similar activities of launching raids without any sufficient inputs and concerned knowledge to harass the individuals, and this led to decreasing the reputations of police in the eyes of the common man. Moreover, the operational front in the entire Rajouri-Poonch remained weak as no big achievement was reported against terrorism, drugs, and various anti-social and anti-national activities during the last few years. Maximum incidents of harassment of innocent individuals on the part of some police officers have been reported in the region. Some influential people were also directed to give regular favors to some officers, and this issue became the talk of the town about how some police officers were misusing their official positions. To hide various inefficiencies, the majority of amateurish people in the fourth estate were also taken into confidence by police with a direction not to highlight any of the questionable acts of police in the media, and it’s a clear act of indirect, forceful censorship on the fourth estate. In the last few years, the region has witnessed unprofessional policing as a few officers have lowered the dignity of J&K police to a new low with their brazen misuse of their official positions. Weak intelligence network of police, not solving big terror cases, poor professional zeal among the police officers, lack of coordination between officers of different agencies, and not planning a robust strategy from the office of DIG Rajouri-Poonch range and SSPs of twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri against the revival of terrorism and drug terrorism have lowered the confidence of the people at the ground level. The entire region required a solid team of highly professional officers, as the absence of that proved to be a big internal security concern for the people. On the one hand, the police in the Rajouri-Poonch range have failed to crack major terrorist attacks like Dhangri, BG-I (Chamrer), BG-II (Bhatadurian), and the Dera Ki Gali attack and other similar acts of drug terrorism, but on the other hand, weak performance on the operational front in the entire Rajouri-Poonch region, poor coordination between range and district police offices on various sensitive issues, and the uncivilized acts of harassing innocent people by some police officers have started a big debate in public about the role of police in the interest of public safety and national security. Although a few professionally strong police officers are posted in the region, they are unable to deliver as a team due to the presence of professionally weak police officers in the region. During the tenure of former DGP Dilbagh Singh (IPS), the J&K police took strong action against terrorism in J&K as the top cop played a massive role after the abrogation of temporary articles 370 and 35-A in ensuring peace in J&K, which was never expected by anyone. But under the leadership of former DGPs Dilbagh Singh and R.R. Swain (IPS), the J&K police failed to achieve a big success in solving the big terrorist attacks in the sensitive Poonch-Rajouri region, which took place during the last few years. DIG R-P range, district SSPs, and their subordinate officers in the Rajouri-Poonch region failed to crack all the major terrorist attacks that took place in the region, especially in the Poonch district. On the operational and local police intelligence setup, no major breakthroughs have been achieved against terrorism, drug terrorism, OGWs, and identifying the terror support structure that has been operating in the district for a long time. It is important to mention here that exactly two years have passed, but the J&K police have not achieved any positive outcome in the Dhangri terrorist attack, as the said attack took place on the 1st and 2nd of January 2023. In the first attack, four persons were killed and nine were injured. In another shocker, the second attack took place in the shape of an IED blast near the place of the first attack, and this led to the death of a child, including injuries to five others. Another child who was injured in the IED blast also died later. So, six persons were killed and thirteen persons were injured in the said Dhangri attack. Many protests were carried out in Rajouri against the government and J&K police, but no outcome has been achieved in the Dhangri case; as a result, the affected families were feeling mentally harassed and still looking for justice. The people of Dhangri also threatened mass migration from the area. In between, the case was handed over to the NIA, and reportedly, many inputs were gathered by the NIA and J&K police, but even after a lapse of two years, nothing concrete has come into the public domain. Former DGP Dilbagh Singh (IPS) once said that the police had got sufficient leads and the case would be solved soon, but nothing substantial has come in the public domain till now, although it was claimed by the police that the mastermind of the Dhangri attack was killed by the security forces. Meanwhile, the Poonch-Rajouri region also witnessed the transfers of DIGs, SSPs, and other high-ranked police officers, but it did not work at all on the ground, as no efforts were made from the police to carry on with the investigation further, leaving the affected families to live on the mercy of God only. The ailing mother of the two children who lost their lives in the Dhangri terrorist attack was seen many times expressing her dissatisfaction with the investigation process, but those who were involved in the entire investigative process with an agenda to bring to justice those responsible for the attacks failed in achieving any big output in the case, and it raised a big question mark on the offices of DIG Rajouri-Poonch and SSP Rajouri. Those who were duty bound to solve the Dhangri case seem to have left the issue under the carpet, and it will raise the morale of anti-national forces, which is not a good sign from an internal security point of view in the sensitive Rajouri-Poonch range.(To be continued…)
