In a significant shift towards community involvement in law enforcement, the Jammu and Kashmir Police unveiled a novel initiative, announcing cash rewards for vital information aiding the crackdown on cross-border tunnels, drugs smuggling, and militant recruitment.
For the first time, the police have extended monetary incentives ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 12.5 lakh for actionable intelligence that facilitates the arrest or elimination of militants, dismantles narcotics smuggling networks, exposes cross-border tunnels, or reveals intelligence about illicit cross-border drone movements.
In a social media post, the J&K Police affirmed, “Cash rewards will be granted to individuals furnishing information on trans-border tunnels, drones, narcotics, terror activities, and terrorists. Public cooperation can be extended by contacting district SSPs, ensuring confidentiality of informants.
Highest reward of Rs. 12.5 lakh
“The highest reward, amounting to Rs 12.5 lakh, has been earmarked for specific information leading to the neutralization or apprehension of a category ‘A’ militant, while a reward of Rs 2 lakh is designated for a category ‘C’ militant.
While this initiative isn’t the first instance of the police offering rewards for militant-related intelligence, it marks the inaugural implementation of cash incentives for information about individuals inciting recruitment into terrorist groups.
Notably, the police have previously allocated rewards of up to Rs 10 lakh for information on wanted terrorists, utilizing undisclosed funds to manage informant relations. They have also pledged Rs 5 lakh for intel leading to the dismantling of cross-border tunnels facilitating terrorist activities.
Moreover, a reward of Rs 3 lakh has been specified for information pinpointing cross-border drone sightings involved in drugs smuggling, dropping narcotics or explosives, and Rs 2 lakh for exposing inter-state narcotics networks. Further, a Rs 2 lakh bounty has been outlined for intel on individuals communicating with militant handlers within J&K or their agents, and a Rs 1 lakh reward for information identifying individuals inciting terrorist affiliations in mosques, madrassas, or educational institutions.
This paradigm shift in incentivizing community involvement seeks to augment intelligence gathering, bolstering law enforcement’s efforts in combating militancy and thwarting smuggling activities while ensuring informant confidentiality.