Hands over Job offer letters to kin of Martyred Policemen, Engineer
Jammu Tawi, Apr 7: Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir has been curbed but “our mission is still not accomplished” as the scourge has not been completely eliminated, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday after meeting the families of 10 police personnel and an engineer who lost their lives in various terror attacks over the past one year.
Shah said significant progress has been achieved under the Modi government in tackling terrorism and ending separatist ideology in the Union Territory.
The minister, who is on a three-day visit to J-K, met the families at Raj Bhavan, paying tributes to the terror victims and expressing gratitude to their families. He also handed over appointment letters to nine nominees on compassionate grounds.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat were among those present on the occasion.
Among the families who met the Union minister were the next of kin of four policemen who recently sacrificed their lives in a fierce gunfight with Pakistani terrorists in Kathua district, officials said.
A massive search operation has been underway in the forest area of the district since March 23, when police and other security forces intercepted a group of five terrorists who had infiltrated from across the International Border in the Hiranagar sector.
Four policemen — head constable Jagbir Singh and selection grade constables Jaswant Singh, Balvinder Singh and Tariq Hussain — and two terrorists were killed in a fierce gunfight in the district on March 27.
The wives of the slain policemen hailing from Kathua, Jammu and Reasi districts, along with relatives of six other police personnel were present at the event, the officials said.
Ruchi Abrol, wife of engineer Shashi Bhushan Abrol of the Talab Tillo area of Jammu, also met Shah. Abrol was among the seven workers of a construction company killed in a terror attack at Gagangir in Ganderbal district in October last year.
Addressing the families, Shah said for more than three and a half decades, Jammu and Kashmir has suffered the devastating effects of terrorism.
“We are proud of the sacrifice of our brave policemen who laid down their lives to protect our country, our homes and our future. Today under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, significant progress has been achieved in tackling terrorism and ending separatist ideology.
“Our mission is still not accomplished because terrorism has been curbed, but it has not been completely eliminated,” he said.
The Home Minister urged the J-K Government to take positive steps for the “compassionate appointment” of 12-year-old Yuvraj Singh, son of martyr Jaswant Singh, upon attaining adulthood (18 years of age).
Shah also paid his respects and gratitude to the family of Abrol, Deputy Manager-cum-/Designer, APCO Construction Company, Gagangir.
The minister said no amount of words can take away the pain being felt by the bereaved, but the government’s gesture symbolises “our deep gratitude and the government’s unwavering commitment to stand with the families of the brave martyrs, just as the loved ones of the martyrs have stood by the nation”.
He urged everyone to “follow the ideals of the martyrs and have an eternal love for duty, honour and ‘Maa Bharti’”.
“The sacrifice, courage and commitment of the martyrs will always remain etched in our hearts and will continue to inspire us to build the India of their dreams,” he said.
Amit Shah visits Forward Post along IB in Kathua
Jammu Tawi, Apr 7: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, currently on a three-day tour of Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday, visited a forward post of BSF along the India-Pakistan border in Kathua district, where a massive operation against Pakistani terrorists is underway for the past fortnight, officials said.
Shah flew in a helicopter to the Hiranagar sector of Kathua from Jammu around noon and was later escorted to Border Security Force (BSF) Outpost ‘Vinay’ to assess the ground situation, they said.
BSF Director General Daljit Singh Chaudhary, J-K Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat and other senior officers, including Inspector General of BSF, Jammu Frontier, Shashank Anand, and Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone, Bhim Sen Tuti received the home minister, the officials said.
Shah reached Jammu Sunday evening and held a closed-door meeting with BJP MLAs and office-bearers.
After a nearly two-hour meeting at BJP headquarters here, Shah took to X and shared that he held a meeting with BJP MLAs and senior members of the party.
“Under the leadership of (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji, BJP will continue to work for the prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir,” he wrote on X late Sunday night.
Police and security forces have been put on high alert because of Shah’s visit, the officials said.
Senior officers are expected to brief the home minister about the ground situation along the border.
Shah is also scheduled to meet the family members of the Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel killed in the line of duty at the Raj Bhavan in Jammu upon his return from Kathua and present appointment letters to some of them selected on compassionate grounds.
Later, he will attend another meeting at the Raj Bhavan where the security situation in J&K will be reviewed, the officials said.
Shah arrives in Kashmir, visits family of Martyr Cop
Srinagar, Apr 7: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday visited the family of Kirti Chakra awardee Deputy Superintendent of Police Humayun Muzammil Bhat, who laid down his life battling terrorists in 2023.
Shah, who is on a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, went straight to Bhat’s house at Humhama after landing at Srinagar airport, officials said here.
The Union home minister spent nearly 20 minutes with the slain police officer’s father, retired IGP Ghulam Hassan Bhat, before heading to Raj Bhavan, they said.
Posthumously awarded Kirti Chakra, Bhat was among four security personnel who died in the line of duty while battling terrorists in the dense forests surrounding Gadool village of Kokernag in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district in September 2023.
Upon Shah’s arrival at the airport, he was received by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his advisor Nasir Aslam Wani.
Security has been beefed up across Kashmir for Shah’s visit with armed personnel deployed in large numbers to ensure an incident-free visit. The Union home minister will review the security situation in Kashmir in a meeting with top security forces and police officers on Tuesday. He will also review the developmental projects underway in the Valley in a separate meeting.
