After Rajouri killings, clamour grows for strengthening village defence panels

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, January 4

After an armed villager scared away the terrorists who had been on a killing spree in Upper Dhangri village of Rajouri on Sunday, clamour has been growing in Jammu division to strengthen the Village Defence Committees (VDCs), formed in mid-1990s to thwart terrorists' nefarious designs.

Achieved success

The VDCs became so successful that they not only thwarted terror attacks, but also engaged militants till the arrival of security men. Shesh Paul Vaid, Ex-DGP

Arm villagers

At least 20-25 men should be armed with automatic weapons in villages where the population of Hindus is significant. Ramesh Chaudhary, Sarpanch, Deeing village

Defence committees ignored

Considered to be the first line of defence against terrorists, the VDCs have been ignored. Bal Krishan, Upper Dhangri village

The terrorists had gunned down four civilians in a few houses on January 1. The next day had seen an IED explosion in one of those houses, leaving two minors dead.

While the militants were going from house to house to kill Hindus, VDC member Bal Krishan (42), who owns a small cloth shop in Upper Dhangri village, came out with his old .303 rifle and fired at the terrorists, forcing them to flee into the nearby forests. His swift move helped thwart what could have turned into a massacre.

According to Bal Krishan, after he opened fire, the scared terrorists began looking for the source of the gunfire. Within moments, he reloaded the rifle and fired once again, making the terrorists flee.

Bal Krishan, who had received the weapon as well as the training to use it as a VDC member in 1998, said, “The terrorists would have killed many people had they stayed there for five more minutes. The government has diluted the VDCs that were considered to be the first line of defence against terrorists in 1990s and early 2000. There is no training or issuing of new weapons to the VDC members.”

The Union Home Ministry, in a communication to the J&K administration in March last year, had ordered formation of Village Defence Groups (VDGs) as a measure to rejuvenate the VDCs. Villagers said nothing had been done in this direction.

Ramesh Chaudhary, Sarpanch of Deeing village along the LoC in Nowshera, said local residents had not only faced ceasefire violations from Pakistan but also fear of a Dhangri-like massacre but the government failed to strengthen the VDCs. “In my panchayat, there are hardly two or three VDC members. The government should arm at least 20-25 members with automatic weapons in every panchayat where population of Hindus is significant. Earlier, there used to be 15-20 VDC members in villages but their weapons were taken back due to various reasons after terrorism declined. The VDG has no presence on the ground,” he said.

As per an order of the then Additional Chief Secretary (Home), VDC came into existence on October 1, 1995. Such groups had played a role in 1965 and 1971 wars to check trans-border movement.

Former DGP Shesh Paul Vaid, who was instrumental in creation of the first VDC in Udhampur district, said as villages were scattered and located in mountainous areas, it was difficult for the security forces to reach there in case of a terror attack. “The VDCs became so successful that they not only thwarted many terror attacks by Pakistan-trained militants, but also fought with them for hours till security forces reached the spot,” said Vaid.

He said that the attempts of ethnic cleansing in Jammu region by terrorists were thwarted by these VDCs.

Dhangri Sarpanch Dheeraj Sharma said the locals gave a document of demands to the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on his visit in which revival of VDCs was the main demand.

Past role of such groups

• Village Defence Committees (VDCs) came into existence on October 1, 1995. Such groups had played a role in 1965 and 1971 wars to check trans-border movement.
• The government had last year ordered rejuvenation of VDCs as Village Defence Groups, but villagers say nothing has been done in this direction so far.

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