Resignation of SPOs 'negligible', restricted to certain areas of south Kashmir: J-K govt

The Jammu and Kashmir government Tuesday said the resignation of special police officers (SPOs), who have borne the brunt of militant attacks, was "negligible" and is restricted to certain areas of south Kashmir only.

State chief secretary B V R Subrahmanyam said all SPOs have been instructed about their personal safety while the government is in process of enhancing their honorarium.

"The problem of resignation of SPOs are restricted to certain areas. There is by and large no such problem in north and central Kashmir. It is concentrated in south Kashmir," he told reporters here.

Subrahmanyam said there were 30,000 SPOs in the state and the number of SPOs "resigning is negligible".

"We know that the honorarium of SPOs was enhanced from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 per month some time ago. The honorarium will be hiked substantially, but I do not want to give out any figures as it will be decided by the The State Administrative Council (headed by the Governor)," he added.

The chief secretary said a decision in this regard will be taken in a few days.

Three policemen were abducted from their homes in south Kashmir's Shopian district and shot dead in cold blood by the Hizbul Mujahideen on September 21.

Earlier reports suggested that the killings had triggered panic in the lower ranks of the police department with at least six policemen resigning.

The Home Ministry had said the reports have appeared in a section of media that some special police officers in Jammu and Kashmir have resigned, but the state police has confirmed that these reports are "untrue and motivated".