Srinagar, July 20: With the unrest in the Kashmir Valley brewing in the wake of recurring civilian killings, senior officials in the civil and police administration are trying to stay away from plum but sensitive positions in the government.
In defiance of the government orders, several officials, both in the civil and police administration, have of late refused to join the sensitive assignments because of the volatile situation in the Valley.
“A number of officers have, of late, declined to take up sensitive assignments in different districts including Srinagar, Kupwara and Varmul and have settled for modest postings which don’t involve any public dealing,” highly placed administrative sources told Greater Kashmir.
Following the killing of two youth in north Kashmir’s Varmul district in the past two days, the government ordered a reshuffle in the police administration. The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Railways, Mansoor Ahmad Untoo was transferred and appointed as the new SSP, Varmul in place of Sheikh Mehmood.
Sources said Untoo’s transfer came only after the SSP, Special Branch, Ghulam Hassan Bhat, refused to assume charge as SSP Varmul. The refusal, source said, led to Bhat’s attachment with the Police Headquarters, Srinagar.
The transfer became inevitable, as according to sources, immediately after the killing of a youth in police firing at Varmul Monday, the incumbent SSP Sheikh Mehmood, complained of “some heart trouble” and immediately fled from the district. Mehmood, they said, travelled to Srinagar “by road” even with the “heart trouble” before leaving for Chandigarh for ‘specialised treatment’.
Asked why he refused to join as SSP Varmul, Bhat told Greater Kashmir that he expressed his inability to join the new assignment for “personal reasons.”
Recently, sources said the deputy commissioner, Kupwara, was reportedly airlifted to the district after the prevailing unrest engulfed the border district leading to massive protests. Lobbying for transfer from the district, DC Kupwara had proceeded on leave, which was cut short due to the volatile situation, forcing him to join back amid crisis.
Earlier, a senior officer presently posted in the State Public Service Commission, transferred under a cabinet decision, refused to take charge as DC Kupwara “keeping in view the volatile situation in the Valley.” It has been a month of unrest in the Valley now. And, according to sources, the government is finding it difficult to relocate the officials, especially from the districts, as not many officers in the administration are willing to take up sensitive assignments.
This according to observers is because the officials are “made the soft target” as and when the crisis in any area deepens. “The deputy commissioner or senior superintendent of police happen to be the soft targets as and when policemen or paramilitary troopers shoot at the protesters, as if the crime is committed by the officials themselves,” said a senior police official, wishing anonymity. “Why should the officials accept postings in the volatile districts if they have to only face embarrassment at the end of the day. The government has to fix the responsibility in such situations so that senior officials are not harmed. These transfers affect their credibility in the long run.”
The refusal to take up new assignments is not confined to police officials only. The problem, the sources said, was chronic in the civil administration as well, where the officers try to influence through different means after hearing that their transfer was on cards.
According to sources, the Government had recently sought the consent of a senior KAS officer for his posting as Director Information, which he plainly refused given his “bitter experience” of working in similar capacity earlier.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
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