| Amid biting cold, Army’s CASO continue in Kashmir | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Feb 1: Even record-breaking cold temperatures have not discouraged the security forces in the Kashmir Valley from routinely conducting cordon and search operations (CASO), leaving the ailing, old and children to face the brunt of the chilly conditions.
The regular anti-militancy exercise is conducted by security forces in residential areas of the Valley. People are lamenting that these operations cause massive inconvenience to ordinary citizens, especially the vulnerable.
This means that people are asked to come out of their homes in the bone-chilling cold so that security personnel can conduct searches to trace militants.
During the Chillai Kalan, the 40-day period of harsh winter, the joint forces led by the Army’s Rashtriya Rifles, Jammu and Kashmir police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have launched dozens of operations to trace militants. Police sources say the search operations can start any time of the day and at any location, based on specific inputs that the security agencies receive about the presence of militants.
During the severe chill of Chillai Kalan, security forces have launched many nocturnal CASOs, mainly in the rural areas of Kashmir. These operations usually start during the early hours of the morning and can continue until the evening.
For respite from the cold condition, people usually prefer to stay inside their homes. This year, the unrelenting cold broke a 30-year-old record in Srinagar. |
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