The killing of Jammu and Kashmir Special Police Official (SPO) Khushboo Jan in her village in Vehil, Shopian, continues the trend, seen over the last several months, of militants specifically targeting this group of contractual employees who work with the regular police force in the state.

Eight SPOs were killed by militants in 2018, taking the total number of these officials killed in counter-insurgency operations and militant attacks since 1996 to over 500. As fear grew among the SPOs, a trend of resignations was seen, especially in the four South Kashmir districts of Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam and Anantnag.

Recruitment

In 1996, when Farooq Abdullah’s National Conference government was in power, SPOs were first recruited to join the fight against militancy. They were offered Rs 3,000 a month, and were told they would be absorbed in the regular police force after three years if their performance in counter-insurgency operations was “excellent”.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police Act says an SPO may be appointed “when it shall appear that any unlawful assembly or riot or disturbance of peace has taken place or may be reasonably apprehended and that the police force ordinarily employed for preserving the peace is not sufficient…”
Unlike the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the salaries of SPOs are budgeted under the Union Home Ministry’s Security Related Expenditure. SPOs used to be appointed directly by Superintendents of Police without any screening; however, following the massive protests after the 2016 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, the Union Home Ministry announced that 10,000 SPOs would be recruited through District Level Screening Committees headed by Deputy Commissioners.

Eligibility

Men and women between the ages of 18 and 28 who have cleared Class 10 can apply. The physical test eligibility is for men to run 1,600 m in 6 minutes and 15 seconds, and for women, it is at least 1,000 m in that same time.
Upon recruitment, men are deployed in both counter-insurgency and law and order duties, while women SPOs are deployed for law and order. The killing of Khushboo Jan is a rare attack on a woman SPO, even though they too, had begun to face threats from militants from last year onward.
Vulnerability.

The 30,000-strong SPO cadre is an important, if inadequately acknowledged, force-multiplier for the 90,000-strong regular Jammu and Kashmir Police. However, even after a revision of salaries in September last year, SPOs with less than five years in the job get a meager Rs 6,000 per month. Those who have put in 5-15 years get Rs 9,000, and veterans of over 15 years get a paltry Rs 12,000 per month. In comparison, a constable, the lowest-ranked regular policeman, is paid Rs 23,000 per month.

Since SPOs are seen as government stooges and enemies of the militant struggle, they are obvious soft targets. Despite being at the forefront of counter-insurgency operations, their entire training consists of a basic seven-day course that does not go much beyond ceremonial aspects. Those in counter-insurgency operations get another short course on handling weapons, but it is not considered adequate by most police officials. In fact, SPOs who are not involved in counter-insurgency operations are not even issued a weapon.

Courtesy The Indian Express

SRINAGAR, MAR 16 : Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Conference Senior Vice President and former Minister Abdul Gani Vakil in a statement today said political instability and uncertainty in the Valley are a result of historical mistakes committed by NC leadership.

“The people of the state are the victims of these their blunders, especially the Indira-Sheikh Accord in 1975. Had the leadership of NC taken a stand, nobody would have eroded the position of 1953, we would not have faced feud, thousands of lives wouldn’t have been lost, people wouldn’t have faced the carnage”, Vakil said while lambasting the previous NC regimes for their role in various machinations against the people of the state.

Addressing the people in a special meeting in Jammu, Abdul Gani Vakil said that “Farooq Abdullah’s talk about Autonomy is hollow and deceitful. What have the previous NC governments done for state’s autonomy? NC government did pass a resolution on autonomy but only to be rejected by the Vajpayee government. Omar Abdullah was the then Foreign Minister but he chose not to resign, which reflects their lust for power at any cost.”

He further said history is a testament to the fact that NC can go to any extent in order to satiate their lust for power. “People should vote for change to put an end to politics of exploitation at the hands of NC & PDP”, he added.

Blaming the dynasty rule for compounding problems in Kashmir, Vakil called for unity against the dynasts. “Dynasty rule is another name of dictatorship and the two families played on the emotions of the people. They only promoted nepotism and devastation. That’s why they became united despite their rift. Had the two families been united for betterment of Kashmir, the state wouldn’t have been in such a mess”, he added.

SRINAGAR, MAR 16 : Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir may be held after the Holy month of Ramzan highly-placed sources said.

Highly placed sources confirmed News agency Press Trust of Kashmir sources that the crucial election to the J&K assembly may be held between June 5 and 30 in 6 to 8 phases.

Sources said that there is a general consensus that the assembly election in J&K can be held with adequate security deployments before this year’s Amarnath Yatra which begins on July 1.

A day earlier on Friday representatives of various political parties had met the three-member team of special observers, appointed by the Election Commission (EC), and pressed for holding the assembly election and Lok Sabha polls simultaneously in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, the leaders from the National Conference and CPI (M) leader did not meet the poll panel observers, saying they had nothing more to add to the demand for simultaneous polls.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir has been under President’s rule since December 19, 2018, which was necessitated after six months of Governor’s rule ended in the state.  (PTK)