G20 meet: Security beefed up in north Kashmir

Srinagar: Security has been beefed up in north Kashmir ahead of a G20 meet in the valley later this month, in view of three back-to-back encounters with militants in which five ultras were killed, officials said on Sunday.

Additional security personnel have been deployed on the ground and drones are being used for aerial surveillance, they said.

Sniffer dogs are assisting security personnel in checking vehicles at various check points established to prevent movement of militants or explosives, they said.

The officials said the security apparatus has been put on a heightened alert as Kashmir will host the third G20 Tourism Working Group meeting later this month.

North Kashmir has witnessed three back-to-back encounters between security forces and militants in the past five days, in which five ultras were killed.

Three of these five ultras hailed from south Kashmir. Their presence in north Kashmir, close to Gulmarg tourist resort, has given rise to apprehensions about the possibility of a major terror strike in the valley, the officials said.

Police officials said the forces were alert to thwart any possible plan of militants to carry out attacks in the run-up to the event.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Baramulla Amod Ashok Nagpure said the intelligence grid was working very hard and the forces have been able to neutralize the threats.

"Our forces are on alert for the summit. Our intelligence agencies are also working hard, our network is very strong. So, we are getting timely information of all the suspicious activities in the area,” Nagpure said.

He said the security agencies are confident that the summit will pass off peacefully and successfully “because of our preparedness”.

The SSP said the security forces have been able to neutralize the threats as there is a complete synergy among various agencies.

The first of these back-to-back encounters in north Kashmir took place on Wednesday as the forces foiled an infiltration bid near the Line of Control (LoC) in Machil sector, in which two militants were killed.

On Thursday, two militants were killed in an encounter in Wanigam Payeen Kreeri area of Baramulla district.

A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant was killed in an encounter in Karhama Kunzer area of Baramulla on Saturday.

While there was a brief lull with no gunfights in the valley over the past few weeks, Wednesday's encounter took place a day after Additional Director General of Police of Kashmir Vijay Kumar had chaired a joint meeting with the officers of police, intelligence agencies and security forces to discuss overall security arrangements for the G20 event.

During the meeting, all SSPs were instructed to conduct anti-terrorist operations on specific inputs. The officials were also instructed to coordinate with other law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies to gather information about any potential security threats and take necessary actions to neutralise them.

While reviewing the security arrangements for the G20 event, the ADGP emphasised the need for coordinated efforts to ensure fool proof security for the summit.

The officials also discussed the deployment of security personnel, traffic management, and crowd control measures to be adopted for the peaceful conduct of the summit.

The meeting focused on the deployment of security personnel, counter drone measures and other critical aspects of security planning.

He directed the officials to ensure that the security arrangements are put in place well before the summit, and the deployment of security personnel should be done in a manner that does not cause inconvenience to the local residents and tourists.

The ADGP emphasized the need to be vigilant and take pre-emptive measures to prevent any untoward incident during the summit.

Kumar also stressed the importance of river and lake domination in ensuring the security of the summit. He also emphasized the need for the Marine Commandos (MARCOS) to be put in place to provide a strong security cover for the water bodies around the summit venues.

He said that an NSG team will be used for counter any fidayeen attack along with Special Operations Group – the counter-militancy unit of J-K Police.

Specialised NSG teams will be deployed at all venues to check drone activities, he added.