SOPs in Kashmir remain unchanged: CRPF DG

New Delhi: The CRPF will follow its existing standard operating procedures while rendering operational duties in the Kashmir Valley, the top boss of the paramilitary has said.

CRPF Director General Pranay Sahay, who returned to the capital after visiting his formation in Srinagar in the aftermath of the fidayeen (suicide) attack in which five paramilitary men were killed, said it has been ordered that the one-third component of armed men will secure those in the riot-gear during their operational duties in the Valley. "The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been there since long. This incident (fidayeen attack on the CRPF camp in Srinagar`s Bemina area) has come after three years. We have asked the boys who are armed to effectively secure those who are not and follow this procedure diligently," Sahay told a news agency. Sahay, who flew down to the Jammu and Kashmir capital within hours of the incident, met his commanders and personnel and assured them of all support from the force headquarters. The SOPs mandate that one-third component of the force, when out on security and law and order duties, will have arms and secure the rest of the squad armed with batons and riot-gear. The DG said the SOPs were also discussed during his unified command meet with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and there was no requirement to change them. "It is essential that the personnel in riot-gear and without weapons are not left out of sight. This is a part of training and our men have displayed it amply as you see that the number of civilian casualties have been very less during protests in Kashmir in the last few years," Sahay said. The force has also ordered a Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the last week attack when two Pakistani terrorists, disguised as cricketers, stormed into the CRPF camp in Srinagar city, the first suicide attack in the city in three years. The two militants were killed by the CRPF personnel in the ensuing gun battle. PTI