Srinagar, June 02: As many as 25,000 Special Police Officers and Village Defence Committee members were fighting with the police and other security agencies to root out militancy and maintain law and order in Jammu and Kashmir. While 22,309 SPOs were engaged by the government in the fourteen districts of the state on a monthly honorarium of Rs 1500/-, 2,486 VDC members were working as volunteers without any remuneration, the state assembly was told in a written reply today. The highly militancy-infested Doda district accounted for the highest number of 8450 SPOs and 883 VDC members.

Baramulla district in Kashmir Valley figured second with 1850 SPOs active in the district.
The number of SPOs in Udhampur stands at 1550 followed by Jammu (1545), Srinagar (1419), Kupwara (1400), Anantnag (1350), Poonch (1100), Rajouri (1070), Pulwama (975), Kathua (950) and Badgam (600).


Leh and Kargil districts of frontier region of Ladakh which witnessed isolated incidents of militant-related have 200 SPOs.
Bureau Report