Srinagar: In a surprise move, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led coalition Govt has secretly roped in, a former police official to help it tackle situation in restive Kashmir, on boil since July 8, when Hizb commander Burhan Wani was killed.
Sources said for the few days, the former cop has been camping in the Anantnag town, assisting police, in a bid to restore normalcy in south which has been worst hit.
Witnesses said the former official was often seen at the Gazetted Officers Mess for police in the town.
His makeshift office lies next to the government Dak Bungalow, where Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti recently held a condolence meeting where families of few victims were brought in to meet CM.
Sources said the former official, who is known as a PDP loyalist, was asked to rediscover his policing skills to get back things to normal, given his previous experience in tackling such situations.
Insiders said apart from issuing advisory to police officials posted in the south Kashmir, the former cop was in regular contact with the civilian population, trying to improve the government-public relationship.
Official sources, however, said no formal orders have been issued on his having been roped in. He has been a well wisher of the PDP and has been asked to render his services in that capacity only, the insiders privy to the development said.
Sources said as the protests refused to ebb, some of the PDP leaders said it was high time for the government to take services of this experienced former police official who played a crucial role in calming down tempers during the 2010 unrest.
Though the then government initially took him as a PDP man, his transfer as a district head brought apparent change. That time the then Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah said he wanted to give a try by roping in an exceptional face to overcome crises.
While Omar said theres no harm in giving a try to (PDP man), things subsequently worked as the summer uprising that year finally came to an end.
Though after his retirement from the police services, rumour mills had been rife that the former cop would join PDP, the party refuted news after cops past association with dreaded Police Task Force surfaced in local press. This was despite the fact that he was seen being garlanded at some PDP rallies in north Kashmir ahead of the 2014 Assembly elections.
A senior PDP leader told Kashmir Observer that there was nothing unusual in roping in the services of the former cop. He has been our friend, a close advisor to our party for all these years and given his experience we always look ahead at valuable suggestions from him, said the PDP leader.
A senior official however feigned ignorance about the issue. May be he was there (in Anantnag) for some personal work. Dont know anything more, the official said.
Despite repeated attempts, the former official could not be contacted for comments.
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