Around 950 terrorists were killed under the watch of outgoing J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh

As per official data, around 950 terrorists were killed under his watch as police chief between September 2018 and October 31, 2023

Chandra Maurya

October 31, 2023

Special DG (CID) R R Swain to be made in-charge DGP

The Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbagh Singh, a 1987 batch IPS officer, is scheduled to hang his boots on Tuesday after serving the police force for over three long decades.

Singh will be passing over the baton to his colleague Rashmi Ranjan Swain, designated as the in-charge Director-General of Police (DGP) by the Union Home Ministry. Swain, a 1991 batch IPS officer, is currently posted as Special DG (CID) in Jammu and Kashmir.

While remaining Police Chief for almost five long years, Dilbagh Singh faced numerous challenges, especially when the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was reorganized into two Union Territories in August 2019.

As per official data, around 950 terrorists were killed under his watch as police chief between September 2018 and October 31, 2023.

During the same period, Pakistan-sponsored Narco-terrorism also emerged as a potent threat in the region. The police teams claimed to have busted several modules but no major headway has been achieved in dealing with the menace.

His tenure also saw a series of targeted killings of members belonging to the minority community, policemen on and off duty, and non-local workers earning their livelihood in the valley.

As police Chief, he faced tough times when terrorists targeted innocent civilians at work triggering widespread anger among the members of the Kashmiri pandit community last year.

Before his retirement day, Kashmir Valley once again witnessed two back-to-back incidents of similar attacks.

First, a police inspector was targeted from a close range by unidentified terrorists in the Eidgah area on Sunday afternoon when he was playing a game of cricket with local boys. A day later, a brick kiln worker, Mukesh Kumar, hailing from the Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, was killed in cold blood in the Nowpora area of Pulwama on Monday.

Sharing a piece of advice for men in uniform, Dilbagh Singh Monday said despite witnessing significant improvement in the security situation threats are still around and cops have to be careful and cautious about incidents like the attack on a police officer in downtown Srinagar.

“We have to be cautious. The threats are still around; we cannot take these so lightly. We have to be careful, we have to be cautious, he cautioned.

The overall law and order situation also witnessed a significant improvement on ground zero and common residents reaped rich dividends of the prevailing peaceful situation. The incidents of stone pelting have vanished and a large number of tourists are visiting Jammu and Kashmir.

The recruitment of local youth into different terrorist outfits has witnessed a significant decline and channels of financial funding to these outfits have been frozen.

The State Investigation Agency is on the constant trail of terrorist sympathizers to choke financial support. Several properties of terrorist sympathizers have been seized following in-depth inquiries.

The police force, which remained at the forefront of tackling Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, has been modernized and provided with the necessary support, and logistics in terms of bulletproof vehicles, patrol vans, internet facilities across police stations, motorbikes for patrolling cops, mobile bunkers to ensure the safety of the commandos during anti-terrorist operations, bulletproof vests, quick reaction teams have been equipped with modern weapons and other surveillance equipment.

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2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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