After Jammu Terror Attacks, Civilian Village Guards Get Weapons Upgrade

Dozens of civilian groups formed for village defense were given SLRs (Self-Loading Rifle) at Dangri village, where terrorists attacked Hindu families a week ago. The new rifles replaced the .303 guns that was allotted to the Village Defense Groups.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has started a massive exercise to arm civilian guards in villages with semi-automatic rifles to defend against terrorist attacks following the attacks earlier this month in Rajouri district. Dozens of civilian groups formed for village defense were given SLRs (Self-Loading Rifle) at Dangri village, where terrorists attacked Hindu families a week ago. The new rifles replaced the .303 guns that was allotted to them earlier.

Retired army and paramilitary men are also being roped in for the civilian defense groups. Rajesh Kumar, an ex-serviceman, said the new weapon has given enough confidence to take on terrorist if they try to attack the village again. "I want to protect my village. As a soldier, when we could protect whole country, protecting a village is small thing," he said.

Dangri has 70 village guards with .303 rifles. Dheeraj Shama, the local BJP leader and sarpanch of Dangri village, is playing a key role to identity and enroll new defence guards. After terrorist attack of January 1, in which seven people were killed, many more are queuing up for guns.

Mr Sharma says giving weapons to every family will help save lives and end terrorism. "Militancy can be stopped by Village Defense Groups and when there are weapons in every home," he said. While security forces play their role, they can't protect every family. "Even if you deploy 180 companies of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), it can't protect every home," he said.