8 foreigners among 22 militants killed in 12 encounters in Jan 2022; Only one policeman killed in gunfights this year so far, reveal official figures
(Asian News Hub) – At least 400 militants have been killed in various encounters since Inspector General of Kashmir (IGP) Kashmir zone, Vijay Kumar took over the command of police force in the Valley in December 2019. The slain includes top commanders of all the major militant outfits.
Under the IGP Kashmir’s command, 22 militants including eight foreigners and a police man were killed in 12 encounters since Jan 1, 2022 while one militant escaped from the gunfight site and two soldiers sustained injuries.
IGP Kashmir took the charge from IGP S P Pani on December 30, 2019. As per official data available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), in 2021, 171 militants, 34 civilians, and 29 police and personnel from other security agencies were killed. The figures reveal that with the killing of a Hizbul Mujahideen militant in Shopian, the total number of slain militants during IGP Kashmir’s tenure to date stands at 400.
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“In 2021, 89 encounters took place in which out of which 150 local militants and 21 foreigners were killed last year,” the figures state, adding that in 2021, all the top commanders of all major outfits were killed including all the long-term surviving militants.
Pertinently, IGP Kashmir’s first posting was as SDPO Ganderbal. Later he remained as SP SOG Pulwama, SP Awantipora, SP Kulgam, SP Kupwara, SP Vigilance, DIG Traffic Kashmir and. DIG South Kashmir Range Anantnag. Before abrogation of Article 370, he was repatriated from central deputation prematurely and posted as IGP Armed Kashmir. Earlier Kumar was also posted as Inspector General of Police Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA) in CRPF, a specialized paramilitary force which has been raised for jungle warfare in maoist infested areas
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He was instrumental in conducting incident free parliamentary election in Chhattisgarh in 2019 as IG CRPF. IGP Kumar performed role of chief force coordinator for state assembly election of 9 states in 2018 as IG Crpf for which he was conferred prestigious ECI‘s national award 2018 by the president of India.
