Srinagar, Jan 4: In an awkward development for security establishment in Jammu and Kashmir, the Central Reserve Police Force posted in the valley has sought police protection for its men.
The CRPF officials in the valley have been demanding that its personnel should be guarded by the local police while they shop for essential items and a proper security check of the area be done by them ahead of visit of any senior official of the para-military force, official sources said.
The demand comes against the backdrop of an incident in which four CRPF personnel were gunned down on December 30 by militants while watching a cricket match, nine kilometres from Sopur town in North Kashmir.
However, the CRPF spokesperson maintained that they were on road opening duty but the local police station did not agree with the CRPF version.
According to a report submitted to the state Home department, the state police said the CRPF personnel were taken off-guard and the para-military personnel had not followed the required standard operating procedures. The militants after killing the CRPF personnel had the time to walk away with their service rifles.
Another incident brought forward by the CRPF was of stone pelting on the Special Director General N K Tripathy when he was on an unannounced visit to Sopur.
The police said Tripathy had come unannounced to the town and that too immediately after the Friday prayers when some youths pelted stones on security personnel.
While the CRPF spokesperson said bullets were also fired at the cavalcade, the police refuted it saying no such incident took place.
Rather Tripathy’s guards fired in the air after stones were pelted at his cavalcade, the state police said.
The law and order situation had turned violent because of the “unprovoked firing” which was brought under control by local politicians and police officers.
Tripathy, a 1974 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, joined recently as Special Director General of CRPF and was posted in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 4 Jan 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 4 Jan 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 5 Jan 2010 00:00:00 IST