The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday said that the Jammu and Kashmir government has withdrawn security provided to 919 “undeserving persons” since June 20, 2018, when Governor’s Rule was imposed in the state, PTI reported. As many as 2,768 police personnel and 389 vehicles have been freed as a result, the notification added.
The list of persons whose security cover has been removed include 22 separatist leaders, “giving a clear message to those who are involved in anti-national activities”, the notification said. On February 17, three days after the Pulwama attack that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force jawans, the Centre had withdrawn the security cover of separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabir Shah, Hashim Qureshi, Bilal Lone and Abdul Ghani Bhat.
“The move follows a strict stance by the Union Home Ministry on the inappropriate usage of scarce police resources in the state,” the circular said. “It was observed by the Centre that many undeserving persons managed to get security cover resulting in lack of state police resources for the public at large.”
The ministry said it recommended to the state government that a “case-by-case in-depth review” be conducted in the matter. The ministry added that the Jammu and Kashmir State Security Review Coordination Committee held meetings to examine the cases where security cover had been provided. After such investigation, security to 919 individuals was withdrawn.
The notification said that the committee will continue to examine cases to review the requirement of security cover in the future.
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