A total of nine Kashmiri Pandits were killed in the Kashmir Valley during 2020 to 2022, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Among the nine, four Kashmiri Pandits including a person belonging to Kashmiri Rajput community were killed in 2022, four in 2021 and one in 2020, mentions a data shared in the Upper House by Rai in a written reply to Congress MP Rajmani Patel.
Rai further said the government has a policy of "zero tolerance against terrorism and the security situation has improved significantly in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Minister also mentioned that there has been "substantial decline" in terrorist attacks from 417 in 2018 to 229 in 2021.
Replying on "whether it is a fact that huge amount is spent on Jammu and Kashmir security every year", the Minister said there are various agencies and organisations which operate for security of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Noting that the details of expenditure for the purpose are not centrally maintained, Rai said Ministry of Home Affairs incurred a total of Rs 2,814.095 crore as expenditure on security related expenditure on Police of Jammu and Kashmir between 2019 to 2021.
Of the total expenditure incurred during these three years, the Minister said 936.095 crore was spent in 2021, Rs 611 crore in 2020 and Rs 1,267 in 2019.
Rai said the Home Ministry has taken various measures to protect the lives of the civilians in Jammu and Kashmir which include round-the clock nakas at strategic points, strict enforcement of the law against anti-national elements, intensified Cordon and Search Operations (CASO) to effectively deal with the challenges posed by terrorist organizations, surveillance on persons who attempt to provide support to terrorists and initiate action against them, sharing of Intelligence inputs on a real time basis amongst all security forces operating in Jammu and Kashmir, day and night area domination and security arrangements through appropriate deployment.
( With inputs from ANI )
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