After assuming the charge of Jammu and Kashmir as Director General of Police, RR Swain held the first public durbar at police headquarters Srinagar. Swain during an interaction spoke on plethora of issues, public grievances and police public relations and promised that his force will comply to its duties and responsibilities to serve the people.
During his interaction, Swain, however was very specific to various militant recruitments and growing use of drugs and narcotic trade that helped terrorism to survive financially. Even before assuming the charge of police chief, DGP Swain was serving as a secret top cop in CID wing and was primarily focusing to counter an emerging threat of narcotic terrorism.
His focus as DGP chief seems continuously in the same direction while as he also served a strong message across that terrorism in any form is unacceptable.
Swain is choice of New Delhi and is entrusted to destroy the terror eco system. After one year of abrogation of Article 370, in 2020 Swain was deputed to J&K on a special mission to work out on mechanism to destroy the roots of terrorism.
Over the last three decades, New Delhi pumped crores of rupees as security related expenditures to contain the terrorism. While there was no letup in the security scenario, the conflict in Kashmir grew as major financial industry, therefore developed deep stakes of conflict entrepreneurs. This has let the conflict thriving consuming innocent lives with no apparent solution to the problem.
The problem further worsened after these conflict entrepreneurs developed various models of its allied economy including hawala money, corruption and narcotic trade. This money in the market has pushed Jammu and Kashmir into an artificial inflation, price rise and rampant corruption that resulted into lawlessness, bad Governance and eventually triggered a systematic social chaos.
Swain seems to be familiar with the root problems and he is carefully drafting his words and adopts a stick and carrot policy.
He heard the people first and assured them whatever police can do within its powers and resources will do that. As the darbar culminated he spoke to media persons and issued a stern warning across all those who are directly or indirectly involved in fanning terrorism or resorting to illegal narcotic trade.
“The government will use all the available infrastructure in its place to dismantle narcotic trade. We will use ED, NIA, SIU and other investigating agencies to dismantle those mafias who run this illicit trade of narcotics,” said Swain, adding that the properties will also be attached. He focused primarily on big guns in the trade and said that this war won’t stop at any level but the police will unearth all the layers involved in it.
DGP even revealed his fresh strategy of dealing up with terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that if anyone joins terror ranks, the police will connect with his parents, teachers, local mosque committees to convince him to return to mainstream. He said those who join ranks in the terror groups are not even properly trained and lose their lives within a span of one month. Swain said even those who under the garb of freedom of expression
In 2022, 172 terrorists, including 42 foreigners, were killed in more than 90 operations carried out by the security forces across Kashmir and there was a 37% decline in the recruitment of youngsters into terror ranks.
As per police figures, out of total 65 terrorists killed last year, 58 (89%) were neutralised within the first month of their joining. In 2022, 100 fresh recruitments into terrorist ranks were reported.
