New Delhi: The Central Reserve Police Force has resorted to “jugaad” to tackle the shortage of bulletproof vehicles for paramilitary personnel in Kashmir.
The indigenously prepared bulletproof “jugaad” is a casing of metal and wood, with concerte poured in the middle. This structure is then fitted on the exterior of a vehicle.
“Eight of our men were saved in the recent Pantha Chowk due to this jugaad,” DG CRPF R R Bhatnagar told CNN-News18.
Of the 600 vehicles used by CRPF in Kashmir, only about 400 are bulletproof. The lack of such vehicles makes the security personnel vulnerable to attacks by terrorists. Requisition from the Union government takes time, so CRPF has come up with its own “jugaad”.
On June 25, a CRPF party was attacked by Lashkar-e-Taiba militants in Srinagar’s at Pantha Chowk. A CRPF sub-inspector was killed while a constable was injured. The terrorists hid in a nearby school and were killed in a two-day long encounter.
The Union home ministry recently informed Parliament that procurement of 210 light bulletproof vehicles and 45 medium bulletproof ones have been approved recently. But paramilitary sources say the demand is much higher and till further vehicles are sanctioned, it is this “jugaad” which the security forces have to depend on.
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