Centre deploys 100 additional companies of CAPF to Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Article 370 hearing in Supreme Court

The Home Ministry on Friday issued a notification to “urgently” deploy additional Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in Jammu and Kashmir. The decision comes ahead of the crucial Article 370 hearing in the Supreme Court and at a time when the police and armed forces in the area have begun a crackdown on militants , separatists and terrorists in the area, in the aftermath of the Jaish-e-Mohammad orchestrated Pulwama attack that killed 42 soldiers. [caption id=“attachment_5920451” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yaseen Malik was detained on Friday night amid indications of a wider crackdown. Two militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday, police said. The ministry sent a message addressed to the chief secretary and home secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir government and the director general of police of the state, requesting 100 companies of CAPFs. The CAPF companies deployed will comprise 45 companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, 35 companies of the Border Security Force (BSF), 20 of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and and 10 of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Personnel of the Border Security Force may be deployed to the areas near Line of Control, reported News18. According to home ministry sources who spoke to News18, the decision to deploy additional companies comes in backdrop of the upcoming elections in the Valley. The call for immediate movement of forces in the area could also be to assist local police in ongoing operations. A security review conducted recently by a high-level panel may also have prompted authorities to deploy more troops in sensitive areas of the state. The Supreme Court on 19 February agreed to look into a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging Article 370. The PIL, filed by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay, said the court must decide on the President of India’s jurisdiction and thereby delineate who exactly can rule over Jammu and Kashmir. A strike had been called by the Joint Resistance Leadership of separatists in Kashmir in support of Articles 35A and 370 on the same day when the Pulwama attack took place. With inputs from PTI