142 militants killed in anti-terror ops in 2018, says DG CRPF

Jammu: As many as 142 militants have been eliminated in anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir this year, the Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), R R Bhatnagar, said on Friday.

There are approximately 200-250 militant still operating in Kashmir Valley, he told reporters here.

The DG asserted that the law and order situation is "better" in Kashmir compared to 2016-17 and the number of injured personnel has decreased.

As part of efforts to discourage youths from joining militants, he said a helpline called Madadgar was started by the force which received 2.5 lakh calls during last one year .

He sad the militants were targeting unarmed security personnel and their families as they were frustrated.

"Our force is better protected and there is a better security situation on the law and order front (in Kashmir). In days to come, forces will perform even better."

Bhatnagar said, "In this year alone till now, 142 terrorists have been neutralized and last year also there were good results."

Asked about the security situation, the DG said terrorism and law and order issues, which include stone pelting, shutdowns and strikes, are the "two big challenges" in Kashmir and they have been dealing with them sternly.

"We are dealing with these challenges effectively .We have very good coordination with our sister security agencies and security forces are successful in dealing with the situation as per their objectives", Bhatnagar said.

Replying to another question on unarmed police personnel being targeted by terrorists in the Kashmir Valley, he said that this is due to the frustration of militants.

"They are engaged in such cowardice, by targeting (unarmed) police forces in their homes and also the CRPF, to create an environment of fear and terror", he added.

He said that with every sacrifice, the forces become more determined to stamp out terrorism and "our force will strongly deal with them".

Asked about militants increasingly recruiting youths from the Kashmir valley, the DG said the ratio of foreign and local militants keeps changing.