Centre orders immediate withdrawal of 10,000 CAPF troops from Jammu & Kashmir

Centre on Wednesday ordered "immediate" withdrawal of about 10,000 paramilitary personnel from Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. This is biggest de-induction of se forces after additional troops were rushed to UT post abrogation of Article 370 of Constitution that gave erstwhile state a unique status.

y said decision was taken after Ministry of Home Affairs reviewed deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in union territory (UT). Home Ministry had last withdrawn 10 CAPF companies from UT in May, while 72 such units were taken out in December last year.

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A senior official told PTI that a total of 100 CAPF companies have been ordered to be withdrawn "immediately" on Wednesday and y have been asked to revert to ir base locations in country. As per directions, a total of 40 companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and 20 each of Central Industrial Security Force, Border Security Force and Sashastra Seema Bal, will be taken out from Jammu and Kashmir by this week.

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CRPF has been asked to make arrangements for airlifting of se units to Delhi and or locations, y said. A CAPF company has an operational strength of about 100 personnel.

" units that are being withdrawn are deployed both in Jammu and Srinagar. It was felt that counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist grid is intact in UT and se additional units that were sent in last year can be de-inducted giving m much required rest, recuperation and training," a senior CAPF officer said.

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Also, he said, with winters soon setting in, it would have been an onerous task to keep se units in make-shift and temporary dwelling units especially in Kashmir valley region. With latest de-induction, lead counter-terrorist force CRPF will have a strength of about 60 battalions (about 1,000 personnel in each battalion) in Kashmir valley apart from very few units of or CAPFs.