VDCs reactivated, 15 CRPF companies deployed in Rajouri, Poonch for minority areas

Cordon-search ops continue in Rajouri villages

STATE TIMES NEWS

Jammu: Fifteen companies of CRPF comprising 1,500 personnel have been deployed in Jammu and Kashmir’s twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch to secure minority areas in the region, while the authorities re-activated the village defence committee (VDCs) by providing members with new ammunition of .303 rifles to strengthen the self-defence set up in the border district.
The development comes in the aftermath of twin terror attacks in Rajouri’s Dangri village on Sunday evening and Monday in which six people of a minority community including two children were killed and 11 others were injured.

Searches continue to track 3 men jumping Naka
RAJOURI: Search operation to track down three suspected persons, who jumped a police checkpoint and escaped to a forest area in Rajouri district, continued.
“We are searching the three persons who escaped into forest belt after jumping the checkpoint of police,” Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh said.
However, he clarified that there were no weapons or bags with them.
“Terror angle is unlikely in this case,” he added.
Security forces are on high alert in Rajouri after six people were killed in two terrorist attacks in Dhangri village of the district. “A motorcycle with three riders broke a police naka at Thalka near Nowshera. However, policemen, with the help of locals, chased the two-wheeler and intercepted it at some distance,” a senior police officer said on Wednesday night.
However, the three persons, who were riding on the motorcycle, left the vehicle in the middle of road and escaped, he said. Searches have been launched to trace them, the officer said.

Dangri massacre: Woman, others being grilled for giving shelter to terrorists
RAJOURI: The Investigating agencies probing attack in Rajouri’s Dangri village have detained a woman for questioning as it has been learnt that the terrorists had stayed at her house for two days.
Now the police is inquiring that whether she had kept the terrorists at her home or they were staying on gunpoint. Apart from police, other agencies have also questioned the woman, who has disclosed that the terrorists had also taken food and drinks at her place. Apart from this, police has also detained a Naib Sarpanch besides a dozen others for questioning.

‘Micheal’ saved 3 families during Dangri terror strike
Dangri: A pet dog’s frantic barks alerting its guardians minutes before a terror attack on their home in the Dangri hamlet of Rajouri district saved at least three families in the neighbourhood from being wiped out.
Four minority community members were killed and six injured in indiscriminate firing by terrorists on four houses in the Upper Dangri village on Sunday, officials said.
The family of Nirmal Devi, however, can thank their pet — Micheal — for saving their lives. The dog’s yelps and high-pitched barks alerted Nirmal Devi and her granddaughter, who went outside to find out if anything was wrong. They soon heard the rattle of AK-rifles as the terrorists who had entered the premises to kill the family fired off a volley of rounds.
“Me and my granddaughter were in the kitchen when our pet dog started to bark at a high pitch. My granddaughter told me that Michael never barks at a high pitch unless there is some danger,” Nirmal Devi said.
Michael, who was tied near the main gate to Nirmal Devi’s home, ostensibly noticed the terrorists moving towards the premises and barked and yelped to warn the family of the impending danger.
“I got concerned and ran towards the room where my husband was sleeping. I bolted the room from outside and then rushed to lock the main gate.
“But by then, the terrorists had entered through the gate and were on the premises,” Nirmal Devi added.
She said the terrorists fired at Michael but he escaped unhurt. Bullet marks are still visible at the place where he was tied.
“After Michael stopped barking, the two terrorists entered a room, fired at the television and escaped,” She said.
Nirmal Devi said Michael’s alertness saved her family.
“It gave a feeling to the terrorists that there was no one inside and they did not enter the room,” she said.
Nirmal Devi added that Michael’s bark also alerted two families living next door and they also bolted the gates to their houses from inside.
“I think many other people in the area are alive due to the alarm raised by the dog and we can say that he saved many lives,” she said.

The incidents, occurring barely 14 hours apart, triggered protests across the district. One company of CRPF has been deployed in the Dhangri village, officials said.
Over 20 companies comprising 2,000 troops will be deployed in militancy-prone and minority areas to strengthen security in the twin border districts, they said.
They said 15 companies have reached the border districts while the remainder will be reach in the next few days.
The CRPF personnel are being ferried from outside the union territory for their deployment in the region, they said.
A senior CRPF officer told PTI the security deployment is underway.
“It is being directly supervised by IG CRPF and senior officers”, he said.
There is a huge cry from the minority community people over the security of their areas in border districts after the twin attacks.
In a related development, a massive combing operation is going on for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday in Rajouri district to hunt down terrorists involved in the twin attack.
Authorities also re-activated the village defence committee (VDCs) by providing members with new ammunition of .303 rifles to strengthen the self-defence set up in the border district.
A cordon and search operation (CASO) is going on in various villages and forest areas in the district, the officials said.
They said sniffer dogs, metal detectors and at some places drones are also being used during the operation in in-depth areas.
A special camp for VDC members of the Dhangri village in Rajouri was held by police on Thursday wherein members of defence committees were provided with new ammunition of .303 rifles which were cleaned and repaired, they said.
Organised at the government higher secondary school at Dhangri, special weapon trainers and handlers of police further educated the VDC members about various measures of security and weapon handling.
This step was taken to reactivate VDCs in remote and mountainous belts in the wake of the twin attacks.
There has been a demand by villagers of the Rajouri district for strengthening of these committees with people asking for the provision of new weapons to people besides proper maintenance and repair of existing ones.
There are more than six dozen VDC members in Dhangri village where terrorists carried out a deadly attack on Sunday evening in which four people from a minority community lost their lives and six others sustained injuries.
In an IED blast on Monday, two children were killed and nine were injured.
VDC members of the village demonstrated proper use of weapons to the committee members. The working condition of these weapons was also checked. Police also issued new ammunition to these members. They were also taught weapon cleaning practices, they said.
Ashok Kumar, who is a VDC member for the last 22 years, said that VDCs should be strengthened in every possible manner as they play a pivotal role in the fight against terrorism.
He further demanded the issuance of new weapons to those villagers who are retired from the army and other security forces who are trained in weapon handling and firing.
In village Prodi Brahamana, 12 VDC members, including a woman, took up weapons for the security of their village.
“We are ready to take one terrorists if they dare to come to this side. We will eliminate them”, a woman VDC member said while the rest of them raised the “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” slogans.