Alarmed by the recent spurt in attacks on politicians in J-K, the Union Home Ministry has decided to send upgraded jammers to the state.‘‘Very soon, we are going to send these technically upgraded jammers to J-K. They will be capable enough to detect and defuse any type of explosive device,’’ said Union Minister of State for Home Prakash Jaiswal. These ‘‘high-quality’’ jammers have been procured from Italy, said sources.They added that the Ministry felt the need to provide upgraded jammers to the state following the October 24 attack on National Conference chairman Omar Abdullah and his father in Anantnag district in South Kashmir. The jammer which escorted Abdullah’s cavalcade had failed to detect the IED.In the past five months alone, militants have killed at least 52 moderate leaders in the Valley and made several unsuccessful bids on the lives of top leaders of different organisations.The sources also said that investigations by security agencies have revealed that militant outfits in the Valley were now using IEDs that cannot be detected by ordinary jammers. Though the local Hizbul Mujahideen outfit was known for planting and manufacturing such IEDs, intelligence reports suggest that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba was the first to procure these IEDs, which work outside the range of the jammer.Sources said the decision to provide upgraded jammers was taken at a high-level security meeting recently chaired by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil. The meeting was also attended by Chief of Army Staff N.C Vij and Director of Intelligence Bureau A.K. Doval. Sources said, at present, Omar Abdullah and his father share the same jammer. ‘‘This is not new. At times when Mufti sahib flies in a chopper, the only jammer which is provided to us is also taken away to ensure his security. On such occasions, me and my father — who also has Z-plus security — have to move out without jammer cover,’’ said Omar Abdullah.
