Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir police has fine-tuned the already existing surrender policy to ensure return of youth who have picked up arms and to plug the fresh recruitment, official sources told Valley Media Service.
Even though police and other forces claimed to have killed over 250 militants in year 2018, 200 were still active and majority of them locals. Officials revealed to VMS, that some 100 odd youth picked up arms last year, leaving the alarm bells ringing.
Militants placed on the list of the Subsidiary Multi-Agency Centre (SMAC) — a nodal agency comprising officials for security and intelligence inputs — will be eligible for incentives, under the fine-tuned surrender policy. A militant who has surrendered will be referred to as a “renouncer”, the policy reveals.
He will surrender only before the designated authorities — divisional commissioners, district magistrates, top police officers and heads of operational units not below the rank of Commandant. Entitled to Rs 5 lakh-6 lakh as fixed deposit, the “renouncer” will be able to withdraw the money after the lock-in period of a minimum three years, subject to continued good behaviour as certified by the CID.
“The objective is to offer an opportunity to terrorists who eschew the path of violence… The policy is particularly aimed at economic rehabilitation, enabling them to lead a normal life and contribute towards society’s progress…” reads the draft policy prepared by the Home Department.
A police officer said that the new policy was more or less same as that of the one unveiled by the former chief minister Omar Abdullah in 2004. “Just a few changes have been made to make the policy attractive,” he said.(VMS)