In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, bullet-proof vehicles, wall-through radars and drones are some of the new gadgets inducted by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to suppress protesters in the territory. Several of these high-tech equipment were used in yesterday’s operation in Pulwama.
“In yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) encounter, we used a Critical Situation Response Vehicle (CSRV) that is bullet proof and it can be used for room intervention or to engage the enemy which is holed up inside a house. It has very little turning radius. It’s bulletproof and can be used to ram the walls. We also have bullet-proof JCBs that are similar in purpose,” IG CPRF (Kashmir Operations) M S Bhatia told the media.
He said drones were also being used by the force. “Drones are something which is increasingly used by us for the surveillance of highways during the movement of our convoys. The drones are used extensively during the Amarnath Yatra also,” he added.
Wall-through radars (WTR) and hand-held thermal imagers (HHTI) are the other gadgets that have reduced the risk for jawans in complex operations. He said HHTI are also used. “We have them in every battalion, especially in south Kashmir.
Bhatia said the CRPF has used technology in the valley like CCTV surveillance along the entire national highway after the Pulwama terrorist attack in 2019.
“We have launched bullet-proof vehicles on a large scale. Some of them are done in factories while some are locally fabricated. We have introduced mine-proof vehicles and medium bullet-proof vehicles in the valley,” he said. Asked if MP-5 rifles were used by the force in the valley, Bhatia replied in the affirmative.—KMS
