DGP endorses Rawat’s ‘de-radicalisation’ idea

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s police chief Dilbag Singh on Monday said that setting up “de-radicalisation” camps in the restive region would be a good step towards reforming those local youth who have gone astray.

The idea was floated by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat who while speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2020 in New Delhi last week had said that the remedy for dealing with Kashmiri children influenced by “radicalisation” could be to “put them in de-radicalisation camps”.

“Radicalisation can be countered. We saw it happening in Kashmir… Today, we see that young children are also being radicalised. They need to be identified and then we need to put them in de-radicalisation camps. The Indian Army has not been using hard tactics… Pellet guns are a non-lethal practice. It is sparingly used,” he had said.

J&K director-general of police Mr Singh when asked at a press conference here on Monday if he thought there is need of establishing de-radicalisation centres in Kashmir, said, “This is such a subject over which Pakistan and its agencies have tried a lot to radicalise youth in this area over a period of time...especially young minds have got affected (sic)”.

He said, “If any such a centre comes up in Kashmir that would be a good sign...it should happen as that would help the people especially those who have gone astray”.

He added, “We at our level have seen that when we get some people and we talk to them they don’t seem to be talking much sense at times. Therefore, if some sensible kind of arrangement is made where good people from the civil society and religious experts explain the relevant aspects of the religion that would be a good development”.