NEW DELHI: With intelligence inputs suggesting attacks on candidates contesting the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), the Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to provide personal security to them by asking the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to deploy over 1,600 dedicated Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel for the purpose, officials said on Wednesday.
The officials stated that intelligence agencies have reported that terror outfits are closely monitoring political parties as they announce their candidates for the polls and are planning targeted killings.
A source in the intelligence agency said that close monitoring of social media platforms reveals that terror outfits active in the valley are promoting violence with the aim of disrupting the electoral process in the Union Territory (UT). These terror outfits, mostly backed by Pakistan’s Army and ISI, have called for a boycott of the elections and instructed their operatives to plan hit-and-run attacks, the source added.
Given this emerging scenario, J&K’s security grid has been instructed to provide adequate protection to candidates. This responsibility will be handled by trained personnel from the central forces as well as J&K police, the officials said.
According to the officials, it has been assessed that the threat is not limited to candidates of political parties but extends to independent candidates as well, and therefore equal protection will be provided to all.
Since the notification for the first phase of voting on September 18 was announced, the nomination process has begun, and all parties will be finalizing their candidates in a day or two. Once the candidates are announced, the MHA will review the threat perception and provide security based on the report from the internal intelligence agency, the officials said.
The first phase of polls will include sensitive areas such as Pulwama, Shopian, Doda, Ramban, Anantnag, and Kulgam. Arrangements have been made to provide security cover ranging from X category to Z category based on the threat perception, the officials said, adding that J&K might see the highest number of candidates receiving security cover.
