Amit Shah in J&K for first visit since abrogation of A 370, meets slain cop's family

Srinagar, Oct 23: Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Jammu and Kashmir, for a three-day tour to review the security situation amid a wave of targeted terrorist attacks on civilians in the valley.

This is Amit Shah's maiden visit to the Valley after the abrogation of Article 370. From the airport, Shah went straight to the residence of Inspector Parvaiz Ahmad in Nowgam on the outskirts of the city. The police officer was shot dead on June 22 as he was returning home after praying at a local mosque. Shah is scheduled to chair a high-level security review meeting later in the day and flag off the Srinagar-Sharjah flight.

During his trip, the home minister will visit remote areas of the Kashmir Valley and the Jammu region, and take stock of various development initiatives.

Shah, who will also be visiting Jammu where he will address a public rally, will review the security situation in the Valley during his three-day trip to the union territory and also flag off the inaugural Srinagar-Sharjah flight.

Ahead of the union minister's three-day visit to the Valley, security has been beefed up, officials said.

50 companies of additional paramilitary forces are being inducted into the valley in the wake of the recent spate of civilian killings.

Bunkers manned by paramilitary CRPF have come up in several areas of the city as well in other parts of the valley, the officials said. They said the aim of constructing new bunkers and putting more personnel on the ground was to cut the free movement of militants.

The officials said barricades have been put up on the roads across the valley, especially in the city, while frisking and checking of people has been intensified. The mobile internet services on a dozen towers -- mostly in the areas where non-local labourers were killed in the past week were snapped three days ago as part of the security measures, they said.