Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbagh Singh Saturday claimed that American assault rifle M4, which was among the seized weapons recently, was being illegally manufactured somewhere in Pakistan or Afghanistan.
He was giving details of the weapons which were smuggled in from Pakistan using drones and other means but seized by state forces along the border during 2020.
“The weapons seized last year was huge, incomparable to what we have seized in previous years. In all, there were 475 weapons seized last year. The number was not even half of this in 2019,” the top cop of the union territory said.
He said among the recoveries were pistols, AK assault rifles, M4 rifles, narcotics and cash as well.
“M4 actually is an American rifle but there are duplicates manufactured somewhere in Pakistan or Afghanistan,” he claimed.
Singh said drugs are being smuggled in from Pakistan using drones and other means.
“If I say the gift of narcotics substance is coming from there (Pakistan), it will become clear to you — be it the Kashmir border, Rajouri-Poonch or Jammu Kathua Samba border. For some time now, narcotics are being dropped using the drones.
The quantity of narcotics that has been seized is unprecedented. We are making our best efforts to counter this menace in an organised manner,” he said.
Singh said a new wing — anti narcotics task force — has been set up in the Crime Branch to deal with the drug menace.
On the infiltration of militants from Pakistan, the DGP said he would like to believe that it will remain low during this year as well.
“I can’t say whether it will rise with changing weather because the security grid is working effectively. But I believe that it will stay low as there is a complete stop on ceasefire violations since the dialogue was resumed. We don’t have any information about infiltration. If there are such attempts, we are geared up to deal with it,” he added.
About the list of militants active in Srinagar and the reasons for that, the DGP said that some youth have joined militancy in Srinagar and that is because of the fact that “radicalization is taking place by the elements who are not happy with the peace.”
“Situation is not alarming. We have an eco-system where we deal with such issues. As far as other districts, we will have to put our heads together where religious leaders, social activists have to play a role to ensure youth are kept away from the gun,” he said.
He said last year, three dozen youth, who had joined militancy were brought back while 12 youth surrendered at live encounters.
Asked whether there is a policy for those who lay down their arms, he said: “Those who surrender will get all the dividends of good life,” he said.
On the missing army jawan Shakir Manzoor from Shopian district, Singh said “We don’t know where he has been killed and buried. We are trying to trace his whereabouts. When we get to know something we will share it with his family.”
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