New Delhi, July 22: There are around 270 terrorists, who are still active in the Kashmir Valley. This year, 57 youth went missing and joined terrorist groups according to data available with the Jammu and Kashmir police.
State police chief Dilbag Singh told reporters that of the 57 who joined terror groups, 23 were killed, while 16 returned home.
Singh also said that the number of active terrorists were lesser this year, when compared to the previous year, when 300 were active. The numbers are on the decline because of less infiltration and a low recruitment drive, he also said. Singh also said that the other positive was that the number of civilian killings had come down. It has come down by at least 80 per cent, he said. On the radicalisation front, he said that the same had come down, but not ended completely. He said that the the overground workers, who are present in large number become terrorists only when the element of radicalisation increases. Singh, however added that they wanted them to return to the mainstream. If any had become an overground worker, then he take himself out of the line, the police chief also added.
According to the State Crime Records Bureau, the number of overground workers in 2018 was 2,430, while the number of active terrorists stood at 257.