They are our kids, they are our own people, Senior Superintendent of Police Shailendra Kumar Mishra had said in November.
Senior Superintendent of Police Shailendra Kumar Mishra, who is posted as a commandant with the Indian Reserve Police in Jammu, questioned the success of the Indian Army’s operation against militants in Kashmir, IANS reported.
“Please do not rejoice at the killing of militants,” Mishra said at an event in Mumbai to mark nine years of 2008 terror attacks in the city. “These killings are a symbol of our defeat, our collective failure.”
The officer said the youth in Jammu and Kashmir “have complaints with the system”. “But they are our kids, they are our own people. They have become thugs, they have become anti-social. We get no pleasure in killing them,” Mishra said, according to PTI.
On Monday, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police SP Vaid said the state will ask Mishra for an explanation. “We have received a communication from the ministry of home affairs and the state government will ask for his explanation,” Vaid said.
Meanwhile, after the speech was shared widely on social media in the Valley, Mishra clarified that what he said were his personal views. “It was what I observed as an officer.”
On Monday, Vaid had said reports about militancy rising in Kashmir were “not based on facts”. “The reality is the situation is fast returning to normal,” Vaid told reporters. The number of young Kashmiris joining militant groups crossed 100 this year for the first time in eight years, PTI had reported on Sunday, citing data from security agencies.