The presence of police officers from Kashmir at key district-level positions in the state, especially in the Valley, is witnessing decline with every fresh transfer order.
The transfers effected by the state Home department on Monday have triggered fears among the local officers that they would be dumped to insignificant positions in coming days. “Are not we competent enough to handle crucial assignments? How can officers with four to five years of experience handle crucial and sensitive districts in Kashmir? It is sheer injustice with us,” a group of police officers told Kashmir Post.
The transfers were effected at a time when Governor NN Vohra, Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam and DGP SP Vaid are encouraging local officers and have ensured their posting at important positions.
With Monday’s reshuffle, the number of officers from Kashmir holding the positions of district police chiefs has reduced to five. Of them four are holding such positions in Kashmir and one in Jammu province.
In Kashmir Valley’s 13 police districts, only four district police chiefs – Imtiyaz Hussain Mir (SSP Baramulla), Harmeet Singh Mehta (SP Kulgam), Altaf Ahmad Khan (SSP Anantnag), Imtiaz Ismail Parray (SSP Srinagar) – are from the region.
Rayees Ahmad Bhat (SSP Udhampur) is the lone police officer from Kashmir holding the charge of district in Jammu province.
J&K has 25 police districts – 13 in Kashmir, 10 in Jammu and two in Ladakh.
A senior police officer, preferring not to be named, said that transfers in Jammu region have also been effected without giving due “thought and consideration”.
“You have to take a lot of factors into consideration while effecting transfers of DCs and SSPs in few districts of Jammu province. You have to maintain a sort of a balance keeping in view the composition of local population but those factors have not been considered at all,” he alleged.
In 25 police districts of J&K, only five officers from Kashmir at helm
