J&K Updates

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has ordered the police to immediately provide details of the mosques in the Valley. On Sunday night, it issued an order directing five zonal Superintendents of Police in the Valley to provide a list of mosques in the city and its management committees, while another, which has made its way to the social media, asked police officers in Srinagar to collect information about passenger capacity of taxis and fuel capacity of petrol pumps.

“Please provide details of mosques and their managements falling within your jurisdictions as per enclosed proforma for onward submission to higher authorities,” according to the order issued by the Srinagar Senior Superintendent of Police. “The exercise is being carried out to update the data. It is part of normal policing,” clarified Srinagar SSP Haseeb Mughal. Besides this, the officers have been asked to provide information about the ideological affiliation of the mosque committee.

In another development, Railway Protection Force Director General Arun Kumar said that the officer in Budgam who had issued a controversial letter about “deteriorating situation” in the State has been transferred.

In the letter, RPF Assistant Security Commissioner (Budgam) Sudesh Nugyal asked employees to stock ration for at least four months, store drinking water for seven days and fill vehicles fully to deal with the issue of law and order for a long period as there is a “forecast of deteriorating situation” in Kashmir.

Officer replaced

“A senior officer has been brought in to take charge,” the RPF DG said. Moradabad Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Sandeep Ravivanshi has now been posted in Srinagar, Mr. Kumar said.

The DG said the report of RPF IG Sanjay Sankrityayan, who is on a tour of the State, is awaited for further action.

The developments come amid criticism of the Centre by a section of Kashmiri leaders for its decision to send 100 more companies of the Central Armed Police Forces to the State. Construction of new security pickets in the city is also seen in the backdrop of the new deployment of CAPF. Several bunkers have come up in the old city and areas frequented by tourists, including the Boulevard Road along the Dal Lake.

Governor Satya Pal Malik’s adviser on Home Affairs K. Vijay Kumar sought to allay apprehensions. “It is a calculated, deliberate, consulted response to the security grid available here. There was a reduction of the security grid due to our focus on the Amarnath Yatra. Therefore, the need arose to requisition little more forces,” he said.

(With inputs from Special Correspondent)

(This story has not been edited by jkupdate staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)