The security grid in Kashmir has been alerted to thwart militants’ designs to disrupt polling by using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) against contesting candidates and political rallies.
last week three IEDs weighing five kilograms each were recovered from frontier Kupwara district reportedly smuggled from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).“The efforts to counter the IED threats were discussed in a special meeting of top level security officers in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district,” a senior security officer, who attended the meeting told The Pioneer.
The IEDs have been used by the militants in the past elections to create fear among the voters and the contesting candidates. In 1999 Parliamentary elections, BJP candidate Hyder Noorani was killed in a powerful IED blast in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. A mysterious IED blast killed human rights worker Asiya Jeelani and wounded her colleague Khurram Parvez in Kupwara in April 2004.
The five-phased elections will start in Jammu & Kashmir with polling for the first phase scheduled on November 25.
The Army has intensified area domination during the night hours to prevent movement of the militants. “Militants usually plant the IEDs during the night hours and detonate them with a remote control,” the officer said. Commander of Srinagar based XV Corps lt Gen Subrata Saha asked the security agencies to coordinate effectively for ensuring secure atmosphere for the polls