If we are saving lives in Jammu & Kashmir, we are successful: DGP R R Swain

The top cop said the anti-infiltration and anti-terrorism security setup is being strengthened in the region with the induction of nearly 1,000 freshly passed-out policemen on Wednesday.

Jammu: Batting strongly for the current policy adopted by police to deal with the terror ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir, DGP R R Swain on Wednesday said they are successful if they are saving the lives of citizens, security forces, and would-be militants in the Union Territory.

He said the anti-infiltration and anti-terrorism security setup is being strengthened in the region with the induction of nearly 1,000 freshly passed-out policemen on Wednesday. The DGP said that border security is being further strengthened with the induction of these policemen, who have trained recently.

"Our position in J&K Police is that we would like to save lives. If by following a particular strategy or policy for the past three to four years, we have saved lives — we have saved the lives of citizens, security forces, and would-be militants. If we have saved the lives of youngsters from getting into these syndicate crimes, I think we are succeeding," Swain told reporters here.

Swain, who took a dig at those criticising the current policy of forces to deal with the terror ecosystem, said, "No one can fault it. You look at it through a legal point of view or a humanitarian point of view, we have been successful." "If there is a connection between a narrative and an increase in the loss of lives, I would say the narrative is itself liable criminally. It is not a political statement but a legal statement. The existing law passed by lawmakers of this great country, for example, Section 18 of the UAPA, says that if a narrative or ideology is advocating violence, spreading separatism, or glorifying a particular ideology promoting the loss of lives, it would be treated as a crime. It is that which we are looking at," he added.

He further said the police are going strictly according to the law. "We are against that aspect of the narrative. No narrative can be supported, however attractive it may be to a certain section. As long as it is pushing people, mostly the poor, into terrorism as cannon fodder, our policy and planning of our working are fully within the parameters of the law," he said.

"The Jammu and Kashmir Police is the people’s force. Whether it is village defense groups or SPOs, or our regular cops, they are part of each other and fighting unitedly. They (VDGs) get weapons from police and work in coordination with police stations," the DGP said.