No one under house arrest: Govt

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 15

The g today said in Parliament that 223 persons were under detention in Jammu and Kashmir and no one was under house arrest.

Responding to a written question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said the government of Jammu and Kashmir had reported that after the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year, various measures were taken to maintain public order, which included preventive detention of certain persons.

“As on September 11, 2020, 223 persons are under detention. No person is under house arrest in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” Kishan Reddy said.

Reddy also said after the re-organisation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019, into two Union Territories, the number of terror incidents had reduced significantly.

From June 29, 2018, to August 4, 2019 (402 days), there were 455 terror incidents in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and from August 5, 2019, to September 9 (402 days), a total of 211 such incidents took place.

Responding to another question, the minister said the government had adopted a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism. “Security forces are taking effective and continuous action in countering terrorism. As a result, 138 terrorists have been neutralised in Jammu and Kashmir from March 1, 2020, till August 31,” he said, adding that during the period, 50 security forces personnel had attained martyrdom in terror-related incidents and ceasefire violations and cross-border firings in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.