G20 meet: Security beefed up in north Kashmir

Security has been beefed up in north Kashmir ahead of a G20 meet in the valley later this month in view of three backtoback encounters with militants in which five ultras were killed officials said on SundayAdditional security personnel have been deployed on the ground and drones are being used for aerial surveillance they saidSniffer dogs are assisting security personnel in checking vehicles at various check points established to prevent movement of militants or explosives they saidThe officials said the security apparatus has been put on a heightened alert as Kashmir will host the third G20 Tourism Working Group meeting later this monthNorth Kashmir has witnessed three backtoback encounters between security forces and militants in the past five days in which five ultras were killedThree of these five ultras hailed from south Kashmir Their presence in north Kashmir close to Gulmarg tourist resort has given rise to apprehensions about the possibility of a major terror strike in the valley the officials saidPolice officials said the forces were alert to thwart any possible plan of militants to carry out attacks in the runup to the eventSenior Superintendent of Police SSP of Baramulla Amod Ashok Nagpure said the intelligence grid was working very hard and the forces have been able to neutralize the threatsOur forces are on alert for the summit Our intelligence agencies are also working hard our network is very strong So we are getting timely information of all the suspicious activities in the areardquo Nagpure saidHe said the security agencies are confident that the summit will pass off peacefully and successfully ldquobecause of our preparednessrdquoThe SSP said the security forces have been able to neutralize the threats as there is a complete synergy among various agenciesThe first of these backtoback encounters in north Kashmir took place on Wednesday as the forces foiled an infiltration bid near the Line of Control LoC in Machil sector in which two militants were killedAlso readJammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah again advocates for early resumption of dialogue with PakistanOn Thursday two militants were killed in an encounter in Wanigam Payeen Kreeri area of Baramulla districtA LashkareTaiba LeT militant was killed in an encounter in Karhama Kunzer area of Baramulla on SaturdayWhile there was a brief lull with no gunfights in the valley over the past few weeks Wednesdays encounter took place a day after Additional Director General of Police of Kashmir Vijay Kumar had chaired a joint meeting with the officers of police intelligence agencies and security forces to discuss overall security arrangements for the G20 eventDuring the meeting all SSPs were instructed to conduct antiterrorist operations on specific inputs The officials were also instructed to coordinate with other law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies to gather information about any potential security threats and take necessary actions to neutralise themWhile reviewing the security arrangements for the G20 event the ADGP emphasised the need for coordinated efforts to ensure fool proof security for the summitThe officials also discussed the deployment of security personnel traffic management and crowd control measures to be adopted for the peaceful conduct of the summitThe meeting focused on the deployment of security personnel counter drone measures and other critical aspects of security planningHe directed the officials to ensure that the security arrangements are put in place well before the summit and the deployment of security personnel should be done in a manner that does not cause inconvenience to the local residents and touristsThe ADGP emphasized the need to be vigilant and take preemptive measures to prevent any untoward incident during the summitKumar also stressed the importance of river and lake domination in ensuring the security of the summit He also emphasized the need for the Marine Commandos MARCOS to be put in place to provide a strong security cover for the water bodies around the summit venuesHe said that an NSG team will be used for counter any fidayeen attack along with Special Operations Group the countermilitancy unit of JK PoliceSpecialised NSG teams will be deployed at all venues to check drone activities he addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever