J-K: 7,030 SPOs dismissed from services since 2009

The Jammu and Kashmir government has terminated the services of 7,030 Special Police Officers (SPOs) in the state since 2009.
In a written reply to the question of Congress member G M Saroori in Assembly today, Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo said 7,030 SPOs were terminated from services in Jammu and Kashmir since 2009.
Of these, 1,292 SPOs have been terminated from services in 2009, followed by 1,535 SPOs in 2010, 2,067 in 2011, 1,917 in 2012 and 219 this year, he said.
There are 25,474 SPOs presently working in police department, out of whom 23,577 are working in different districts and the remaining 1,897 SPOs are working in other wings of the police department, he said.

SPOs were set up as a frontline security to assist police and security forces in anti-militancy operations and to provide security to people and villages in remote and mountainous belts from militants along with Village Defence Committee (VDC) members in the peak of militancy 15 years back.
Besides them, there are also 26,567 volunteers working as members of VDCs in the state.
The government has also absorbed 1,852 SPOs in the police department as constables and followers since 2009.