Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh on Monday backed the idea of setting up deradicalisation camps in the Union Territory, PTI reported. Last week, at an event in Delhi, Chief of Defence Staff Bipin
Rawat had claimed that such deradicalisation centres already exist in Kashmir.
“In recent times, there have been lot of efforts from Pakistan and its agencies to spur radicalisation in this area, some of our young minds have been affected by it and have gone astray,” Singh told reporters in Srinagar. “If such a facility [deradicalisation centre] comes up, it should be welcomed.”
Singh said some of the youth arrested by the police do not seem to talk sense at times. He added that these facilities deradicalisation experts and religious scholars would help such youngsters.
On January 16, Rawat had said deradicalisation camps were operating in India for those who have “completely been radicalised”. “Like what we are seeing in Kashmir...we saw radicalisation happening,” Rawat said at Raisina Dialogue 2020. “...there are people who have completely been radicalised. These people need to be taken out separately, possibly taken into some de-radicalisation camps. We have de-radicalisation camps going on in our country.”
Rawat claimed that girls and boys around 12 years old were now being radicalised, adding that they could still be “isolated from radicalisation in a gradual way”. He added that even Pakistan had set up such camps.
On August 5, India scrapped the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir and divided it into two Union Territories. It also imposed communications blockade and a security blockade, and arrested political leaders. Some of the restrictions have been removed.
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