Resign or face death, ultras warn SPOs on social media

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 19

Ahead of the crucial civic and panchayat elections, militants have started a social media war to threaten local policemen and their families in a bid to discourage people from participation in the elections.

At least two audios and a video have surfaced on social media this week in which militants are heard threatening special police officers (SPOs) to resign from their duties.

Reyaz Naikoo, chief operational commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, in an audio released on Wednesday, warned the SPOs to resign or face death. “We have evidence that 90 per cent of the SPOs are working as informers for the Indian agencies. They sit at home and inform the forces about the movement of militants. We request parents to stop their sons from this work or else they will have to face death,” Naikoo says in the audio.

Naikoo also talks about the frequent appointment of SPOs in the police department even when there are huge vacancies in other departments. “We know you are living in the times of unemployment and inflation, but that doesn’t mean you will trade the sacrifices of Kashmiri people for your promotions,” says Naikoo.

Amid uncertain security scenario, the state election commission has decided to hold the local and urban local bodies elections from October 8 and the panchayat elections from November 17.

Kashmir has recently witnessed several killings of policemen who were on leave in south Kashmir. There have also been cases of abduction by militants.

In yet another audio, Kashmiri youth working with the police and other security agencies have been threatened to resign within four days or else they would be killed.

“You may stay in offices and not come home after these threats, but we will kill your families,” the militant says in the audio.

Officials say another video from Pinglish in south Kashmir’s sub-district of Tral has surfaced in which a former sarpanch can be seen assuring the militants that his SPO son will resign from the department. Earlier, posters had surfaced in Tral asking the SPOs to resign from their duties.

Dilbag Singh, DGP, said police had its own ways of dealing with the threats to policemen and their families. “We are working at our own level to deal with the situation,” he said.