The central reserve police force (CRPF) will procure a new fleet of mine protected vehicles (MPVs) and small 30-seater buses to ensure safety of its convoys in the Kashmir Valley, the chief of the force has said.
The CRPF has also decided to enhance the number of its bombdetection and disposal squads (BDDS) for its 65 battalions based in the KashmirValley for anti-militancy and law and order duties, he said.
These new measures have been chalked out by the force in theaftermath of the February 14 Pulwama militant attack in which 40 personneltravelling in a bus, part of a convoy from Jammu to Srinagar, were killed by asuicide bomber as he exploded a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device(IED).
“We are enhancing our counter-IED capabilities in Kashmir.We are procuring and sending more MPVs and are bullet-proofing force buses. Asit is difficult to armour large buses, we are looking at procuring small30-seater buses that can be better armour plated,” CRPF director general (DG) RRBhatnagar told PTI.
The force uses MPVs for limited troop movements in the anti-Naxaloperations theatre and some of them are being used in Jammu and Kashmir too.About six personnel can travel in these four-wheeled vehicles.
Bhatnagar said small buses can be better fabricated andprovided bullet-resistant armour as compared to the standard large buses thatseat 54-57 people.
A similar large bus was blown up during the Pulwama attack.
Officials said once a large bus is fabricated withbullet-proof sheets, its engine takes a toll and its speed and endurance arerestricted due to the weight of the additional metal used for the armour.
The CRPF chief said it has been decided to provide bombdetection and disposal squads to each battalion of the force deployed in theKashmir Valley and those units which had them, will see an increase in thenumber of personnel and equipment to detect and counter explosives and IEDs.
Seats have been increased in the Pune-based IED educationschool of the force so that more personnel are trained in the trade ofdetection and disarming such bombs in Kashmir, Bhatnagar said.
The bullet-proof armour to the buses will only save forcepersonnel from firing attacks by militants and will not provide fool-proofprotection from explosions like the one that was carried out in Pulwama, asenior officer said.
To counter Pulwama-like attacks, new procedures for convoymovement and protection have been notified, he added.
The new convoy movement procedure involves restricting themovement of civilian vehicles, regularly changing halting points and dynamicmovement of convoys to and from the Kashmir Valley, he said.
Facing criticism for allowing large convoys to ply on roadsin an operationally sensitive area like Jammu and Kashmir, the home ministryhad announced last month that all personnel and officers of Central ArmedPolice Forces (CAPFs) deployed in the Kashmir Valley can now take a commercialflight while going in to join duty or for tour and while proceeding on leave.
The CRPF cavalcade that came under attack on February 14 had seventy-eight vehicles and the ill-fated bus was fifth in line.