J&K: Civilian killings down by 50 per cent

The killing of terrorists by the security forces has gone up this year, while those of civilians by the militants has come down by over 50 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir, bettering the overall security situation in the state.

A latest report on the security situation in the state released by the police says as compared to 31 civilian deaths caused by the militants between January 1 to March 25, 2007, only 14 people were killed during the same period this year.

This shows a fall in the civilian killing by over 50 per cent, the report said.

It said there was an increase in the number of militants killed this year as 60 terrorists were eliminated in 2008 as compared to 58 last year during the same period.

"This is the reflection of better coordination between security forces, round the clock vigilance, better sharing of intelligence inputs and cooperation of the general public in the state," Director General of Police Kuldeep Khuda said.

He also lauded the role of the police in basic policing in the state by giving importance to other law and order problems apart for the counter insurgency operations.

The government has also instituted awards and would provide monetary benefits to the outstanding and deserving policemen, he added.

The number of civilians injured in militancy-related incidents has fallen by over 55 per cent, as only 29 civilians were injured last year, the report said.

Civilian killings by security forces have registered a decline with only nine people being killed in counter insurgency operations this year when compared to the last year's figure of 28, the report said.

Besides these, only 14 security personnel were injured in 2008 as compared to 42 last year, while 83 militants were arrested in 2008 as compared to 47 in 2007, it said.

As many as 12 militants laid down their weapons and surrendered before the police between January 1 to March 15 this year as compared to 10 last year.

"There is also fall in the overall militancy graph of the state as against 177 militancy-related incidents last year, only 119 such incidents took place this year," the report said.