Centre mulling redeployment of Rashtriya Rifles from Kashmir hinterland to LoC

Srinagar, Aug 25:The central government is considering a major reshuffle in its security architecture for Jammu and Kashmir, with plans to gradually pull the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) out of the hinterland and redeploy them along the Line of Control (LoC), while assigning the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) a larger role in internal security, officials said.

According to senior government sources, discussions between the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Home Affairs are ongoing, though no final decision has been taken. “Both ministries are holding consultations, but nothing has been decided so far,” an official told ETV Bharat.

A senior CRPF officer confirmed that once a formal decision is made, the force would take over counter-insurgency duties in more areas. The move comes after three CRPF battalions were recently deployed in Jammu’s Udhampur and Kathua districts, replacing RR units. Each battalion has around 800 personnel, and similar transitions are expected in Kashmir once the Jammu handover is complete.

The redeployment is aimed at reinforcing the LoC amid rising infiltration concerns following the Pahalgam terror attack in April.

Investigators believe the attackers had crossed over from Pakistan months before the strike.

Officials said the plan has been under consideration for nearly two years and is part of a broader security blueprint shaped after what the government calls “a marked improvement” in the Valley’s situation since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

Security experts have largely welcomed the idea. “The CRPF is trained for internal security, while the Army is best utilised for guarding borders,” said SS Kothiyal, former DIG of the BSF. Internal security specialist Prakash Singh, however, suggested that the BSF—responsible for counter-insurgency duties in Kashmir during the 1990s—should also be considered.

The Rashtriya Rifles, raised in the 1990s as a specialised counter-insurgency force, played a frontline role during peak militancy in Kashmir. But Home Ministry data shows a sharp drop in violence in recent years: terror-related incidents declined from 286 in 2019 to 40 in 2024, while security forces’ fatalities fell from 77 to just seven in the same period.