SRINAGAR: After the acquisition of Critical Situation Response Vehicles (CSRVs) by the CRPF in Kashmir to fight militants in encounters to minimize losses for security forces, the J&K police is mulling procurement of high-end bulletproof armoured JCBs and tractors for anti-militancy operations and hand-to-hand fights with militants.
A senior official police official said the J&K police would be procuring five armoured JCBs and five armoured tractors under the High-End Security System to conduct anti-militancy operations in militant hotspots in the Valley.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the purchase of the equipment for the J&K police to give it more teeth for its fight against militancy in the Union Territory. The bulletproof armoured JCBs and tractors will give a morale boost to the security personnel during encounters as they would be able to close in on militants hiding in the residential houses without fear of getting hit by their fire, the police official said.
He said the armoured JCBs and tractors would ensure the safety and security of the police and security men during the house clearance operations in encounters. “These can also be used to ram the wall of
the places from where militants fire on security men,” he added.
“These armoured vehicles will help police minimize the length of encounters and anti-militancy operations. Instead of waiting for militants to exhaust their ammunition, now the security personnel can launch an all-out assault on militant positions in the first go,” he further said.
These armoured JCBs and tractors, he said, would provide a tactical advantage to police and security men during close proximity gunfights with militants as these can be used as a shield or barrier by security men and civilians to escape the militants’ fire
Cops will be able to launch all-out assault
“These armoured vehicles will help police minimize the length of encounters and anti-militancy operations. Instead of waiting for militants to exhaust their ammunition, now the security personnel can launch an all-out assault on militant positions in the first go,” a police official said