J-K DGP refutes allegations of mishandling of political leaders in detention

Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh on Wednesday refuted allegations of mishandling of political leaders who are currently under detention and said the concerned department of the government will look into inadequacies in case if there are any.

"They are in custody and there are authorities to take care of their arrangement of stay. They are now kept at MLA hostel. That is not an ordinary place. If there are some inadequacies, I think the concerned department of the government will take care of it," Singh told ANI when asked about the mishandling of political leaders.

"As manhandling and mishandling is concerned, it is absolutely incorrect. No such incident has taken place. They were shifted from one place to another. When you are lodged at a new place, normal security procedures are followed. That is what the security department would have done. Other than that there is nothing," he said.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that over 609 people are currently under detention in Jammu and Kashmir.

Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, the ministry said that in order to prevent offences involving a breach of peace, activities prejudicial to the security of the state and maintenance of the public order, as many as 5,161 preventive arrests were made in Kashmir Valley since August 4.

The Central government had on August 5 earlier this year announced its decision to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories (UTs). Following this, various mainstream political leaders and others were put under detention.

DGP Singh said that normalcy is returning in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Situation is much better now. Most shops have opened and vehicles are plying on the roads. Normalcy is returning but terrorists are trying to harass them but we are there to ensure people that their normal activities are not affected," he said.

"I have visited Ganderbal, Bandipora, Handwara, Kulgam- everywhere things are changing for the better. The only worry is that terrorists still trying to interfere with normal life, our effort is to thwart their attempts," he said.

When asked about killings of labourers in the region, he said: "All those cases have been traced. In Sopore case, 1 terrorist was eliminated. In Bijebehara case, the killer was eliminated on the same day of the incident. In the other two incidents, terrorists identified, required action initiated."

Five non-Kashmiri labourers were killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir last month.