Rajouri killings: Centre to deploy 18 additional CRPF companies for anti-terror ops in J&K

Jammu:  In a bid to enhance security setup in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, authorities on Wednesday are deploying 18 additional CRPF companies to secure minority areas in the region. The 18 CRPF companies – approximately 1,800 personnel – will be rushed to the Jammu region for deployment mainly in Poonch and Rajouri districts in the wake of recent killings of civilians in two fresh terror attacks in Rajouri district. The move followed a recent order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs amidst intelligence input about the terror attack in the Jammu region, news agency ANI reported. Eight CRPF companies will be deployed very soon from nearby locations of deployment in Jammu and Kashmir, while 10 CRPF companies are being rushed from Delhi, news agency ANI reported. The development comes in view of twin terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district in which six people of a minority community including two children were killed and 11 others were injured.

The deployment is being done for the security of minority areas in Rajouri and Poonch. There is a huge cry from the minority community people over the security of their areas in border districts after the Rajouri attack.

Earlier this week, two children were killed and six people were injured in an IED explosion on Monday near the house of one of the victims in Dangri village. On Sunday evening, terrorists opened fire on three houses of a minority community in the area in Rajouri district killing four civilians and injuring six.

Also Read: One killed after blast near site of Sunday’s terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri

In the first attack, two armed terrorists barged into three homes separated by a distance of around 50 metres from each other on Sunday evening and opened indiscriminate fire. The attack led to the killing of four civilians and injuries to six others. These separate attacks are the third such incidents of civilian killings in the Rajouri district in the past two weeks after two people were killed outside an Army camp on December 16. 

The attack has sparked panic in the district. Several organisations have called for a strike today to protest against the incident and demand swift action. Army and the CRPF have launched a massive search operation to nab the two “armed men” behind the attack at Upper Dangri village. The office of LG Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh and a government job to the kin of those killed in the firing incident.

(With agency inputs)