115 civilians and 135 security personnel have lost their lives in terrorism in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir from January 2020 to January 2023.
This was informed by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai Tuesday in Lok Sabha while replying to a question of Congress member Su Thirunavukkarasar.
The Minister of State for Home, in a written reply, said 37 civilians were killed and 61 were injured, while 62 security forces personnel were also killed and 106 injured in 2020.
"Similarly, the year 2021 witnessed 41 civilian killings and 75 injuries while 42 security forces personnel lost their lives and 117 were injured. The year 2022 witnessed 30 civilian casualties and subsequently, 134 were injured while 31 security forces personnel were killed and 87 injured", the minister said.
Till January 31, 2023, the Minister said seven civilians were killed and 23 sustained injuries while no casualty or injury was reported from the security forces side.
Govt adopting the policy of zero tolerance against terrorism
The MoS further informed the House that the government has a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and the security situation has improved significantly in Jammu and Kashmir.
Various measures have been taken by the Government to protect the lives of the civilians in Jammu and Kashmir which include:
- Round-the-clock nakas at strategic points.
- Group security in the form of static guards.
- Intensified Cordon and Search Operations (CASO) to effectively deal with the challenges posed by terrorist organizations.
- Sharing of intelligence inputs on a real-time basis, amongst all security forces, operating in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Day and night area domination
- Security arrangements through appropriate deployment.
- Preventive operations involve identifying the strategic supporters of terrorism and initiating investigations to expose their mechanisms of aiding and abetting terrorism.
- Identifications of vulnerable spots to prevent terrorist attacks on civilians.
- Besides, sensitizing men on the ground about the issue and initiation of measures to defeat the machination of terrorists or their mentors.
CRPF provides training to Village Defence Guards
Replying to the query whether the Government is considering providing special training to Village Defence Guards across Jammu and Kashmir in order to enable them to better counter the terror attacks, the MoS said that the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has imparted necessary training to 948 Village Defence Guard members in collaboration with district Police Rajouri from January 6, 2023, to January 25, 2023.
Important to mention here that seven civilians killed in terror attacks this year were natives of the village Dangri of the Rajouri district. In two back-to-back terror attacks on January 1 and January 2, terrorists killed seven civilians including two real brothers and two minors.
