Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the security agencies have decided to wipe out militancy from the Jammu region by casting a 360-degree net around terrorists and the eco-system of terrorism.
Addressing a media conference here before ending his daylong visit, Shah also said that the probe into the killings in Dhangri village in Rajouri district has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
“In three months from now, the security grid across Jammu region will be strengthened further,” he said.
On his visit to meet the families of Dhangri village victims, Shah said that he was supposed to visit the village and meet the families whose loved ones were killed on January 1 and 2, but bad weather prevented him from going there.
Giving details about the Centre’s decision to hand over the Dhangri killings case to the NIA, the Home Minister said, “Jammu police will work jointly with the NIA and bring the culprits to justice.
“The NIA will also probe all the terrorism-related incidents that took place in the region in the past one-and-a-half years. Security agencies in Jammu are alert and committed to wipe out terror, its ecosystem, the over ground workers’ (OGWs) network and zero in on those who are providing logistic support to terrorists.”
Two unidentified terrorists had on January 1 evening attacked four houses in Upper Dangri village, killing four people, including a father-son duo, and injuring six others.
Asked whether he would stay in Jammu to meet the families of Rajouri attack victims, Shah said, “There is a bad weather advisory for the next three days. I will come again and surely meet the families of Rajouri attack victims. Today I spoke to the family members of the victims over phone and assured them all support. I am glad that despite losing their dear ones, they are ready to fight terror with full vigour.”
Asked about strengthening the village defence committees (VDCs) in Rajouri in the wake of recent attack, Shah said, “The decision to strengthen VDCs was taken in August last year. This need not be linked to the Rajouri incident.”
On terrorists targeting members of the minority community, Shah said, “Security forces are giving a befitting reply to the terrorists. The J&K L-G has taken a series of steps to protect the minority members as he has the powers to do so. If we go by the figures, minority killings are far less compared to previous years”.
Talking about the overall security situation in J&K, he said the issues need to be seen right from the day when terrorism was born, asserting that the situation at present is much better than what it was before the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
The meeting was also attended by Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri Manoj Sinha, Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir, Financial Commissioner (ACS) Home, DGP, Jammu and Kashmir, Commander, Northern Command, Army and Intelligence, and other senior officers of BSF and CRPF among others.
Addressing a press conference in Jammu after the meeting, the Union Home Minister said that “My desire was to share the grief of victims’ families of the of the Rajouri terror attacks, but I could not go there due to bad weather, I spoke to all the families over the phone and tried to join their grief”. Shri Shah said that the courage of all those victim families is an example for the whole country, it is a big thing to maintain the morale of fighting hard even after such a big incident.
The Union Home Minister said that following the policy of zero tolerance against terrorism under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, all security agencies are fighting a decisive battle against terrorism. He said that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands firmly with the families of the victims and is determined to help them. Mr. Shah said that with full empathy, the affected families would be given benefits through various schemes of the government, along with this all possible help will be provided by the LG with relief measures under his authority.
hri Amit Shah said that a detailed meeting was held with security agencies in Jammu on all aspects of security, discussions were also held on creating a very secure grid in the coming days. He said that all the security agencies of the country are fully prepared and their morale is high with confidence to prevent such incidents. He said that NIA and Jammu Police will jointly investigate the terrorist incidents that took place in these two days and this investigation will be done keeping together all the incidents that happened in the last one and a half years.
Shri Amit Shah said that compared to the time when menace of terrorism started in Jammu and Kashmir, there have been the least number of incidents and deaths in recent times. He said that within three months the security grid in every area of Jammu would be made impenetrable by further strengthening it. He said that I assure the citizens of Jammu that whatever may be the intention of the terrorist organizations, our security agencies will be ready to protect Jammu.
