Govt Eases Out Troops Deployment In Kashmir With ‘Immediate Effect’ hindustantimes.com

More than four months after the abrogation of Article 370, which revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre has finally started easing out the deployment of thousands of troops in the Valley. The ministry of home affairs on Monday ordered the withdrawal of 72 companies or approximately 7000 personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) with “immediate effect” and deploy them to their respective posts.

They included troops from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Earlier, around 20 companies were withdrawn from Kashmir and deployed in Assam in the second week of December. Apart from the regular 61 battalions or nearly 62,000 personnel of CRPF, the Centre had rushed 70 more battalions—around 75,000 personnel—to J&K in August and September for the law and order duties and counter-insurgency operations.