Director General of the Police RR Swain has said a new strategy would be adopted to deal with militancy and narcotics in Jammu and Kashmir. Calling it a dual approach, he said a militant and a drug addict would be treated as a victim, but “those supplying weapons, money and misleading a person on the path” will be treated as real culprits.

“We prioritise to keep our youth and children away from narcotics and terrorism. Collaborating with other government departments, civil society and religious leaders, we aim to prevent situations to keep the police intervention less. Our approach will be innovative,” Swain said.

“As I’ve mentioned before, anyone who becomes involved in terrorism is a victim in our eyes. However, those who supply weapons, provide funding and mislead others are true culprits, not the youths whose facial hair and moustaches have yet to appear. That’s why we’re adopting a fresh approach. We’ll accordingly recognize and reward the efforts of our police force,” the DGP said while talking to reporters following a public grievance meeting at the north Kashmir Baramulla.

“We believe prevention is better than cure. We want to work on this thesis,” the DGP said. About establishing drug-de-addiction centres, he said drug addicts though victims, gradually become peddlers. He said the police department didn’t have the resources to have de-addiction centres. “De-addiction is the job of the medical and health department. We will hold special meetings with the Chief Secretary and Health Secretary about it,” he said, adding that the police would deal with drug addiction issues by handling both drug addicts and the peddlers.

The DGP said he was keen to increase the frequency to reach out to people beyond Srinagar and Jammu capital cities. He said families of the police come to these meetings in large numbers as the police force is large and police families have numerous issues. “They have SRO cases, transfer cases, family health issues, and children’s education issues. Others are general category.”

“The issues pertaining to the police headquarters I only settle here within five minutes,” he said, adding that “we have also implemented a follow-up system so that the cases can be monitored.”

He said the frequency of such interactions should increase, and others should also become more involved.

“In contrast to other departments, the police interaction with the common man is direct. We realise that, unlike other departments, we have daily interaction with them. Our work is tough, and for some we have to take strong steps to make life easier for a large section of people,” he added.

He said in the past 30 years, the police work has become very tough due to the violence and terrorism. “But we believe in the philosophy that we want to make a difference, that those who want to return, we want to make a room for them,” he added.

Courtesy: The Tribune India: 19th Feb , 2024