With snipers and guns, Jamp;K gets ready for R-Day show

The All Party Hurriyat Conference and several militant outfits have declared the Republic Day as the Black Day8217;. The state-level function is to be held in the Maulana Azad Stadium at Jammu, the winter capital of the state, where the Governor G C Saxena is scheduled to take the salute. It was in this stadium that militants hadexploded IEDs in 1995, when the then Governor Gen K V Krishna Rao was taking the salute.

The Governor had escaped unhurt, but a couple of persons were killed and several injured. The recent discovery of at least 10 self-propelled rockets from the vicinity of the stadium, along the dried-up bed of river Tawi, had brought the security forces face to face with the reality that the stadium could come under rocket attacks. The arrest and subsequent killing of two fidayeen members of suicide squad last week from Jammu, had also made them realise that the danger lurked, despite tight security measures.

The stadium was officially taken over by the security forces on December 5, but a national-level tournament was allowed till December 12. Even normally, sportsmen were allowed in only for state-sponsored tournaments after thorough frisking. But there was a total ban on sportsmen or any civilian visiting the stadium after December 12. Almost the entire ground was dug up and relaid by the authorities with snifferdogs in tow. It is for the first time that authorities have even identified two alternative sites to hold the function, although officially any such move is denied.

At least 15 additional companies have been deployed and, again for the first time, Army personnel can be seen positioned at important points, including the railway station. The Army, however, denies that these personnel are on regular duty and say that they have been deployed only to monitor the Army movement in the area. About 200 suspects8217; have been taken into preventive custody in Jammu and about 150 in Srinagar on the eve of the R-Day.

The state is yet to declare the chief guest at the R-Day function at the Bakshi stadium in Srinagar again because of security reasons. The stadium, which is located on the road leading to the airport, has been under siege. Even Government vehicles, including those belonging to the Army and other security forces, are subject to a thorough check. No less than nine companies of CRPF and 12 companies of BSF,besides hundreds of Jamp;K police men have been deployed around Bakshi stadium.

In view of the security threats, few civilians are likely to venture out on the Republic Day. Past experiences have been bad. Even those who wished to attend the function were subjected to humiliating frisking and made to walk long distances.