NDTV : Feb 23, 2019, 04:03 PM
Amid a major crackdown on separatists in Jammu and Kashmir that began last night, the Centre has sent hundred additional companies - around 10,000 soldiers - of paramilitary forces to the state. The massive crackdown, which happened through the night, resulted in the arrest of around 130 people, mainly separatists from the Kashmir and the Hurriyat Conference.The Jamaat-e-Islami in Jammu and Kashmir was once considered to be the so-called "political wing" of terror group Hizb-ul-Mujahdeen. The police have termed the detentions as routine, saying "Separatists and potential stone-throwers have been arrested in the past as well, as a preventive measure."A notice from the Home Ministry in New Delhi late on Friday evening led to 100 additional companies of paramilitary soldiers being airlifted to Srinagar, where the Jammu and Kashmir police and existing security forces worked through the night rolling out their deployment plan for the next few days.Depending on the paramilitary force, a company of soldiers typically consists of between 80 and 150 soldiers, suggesting that last evening's order by the Ministry of Home Affairs would see around 10,000 soldiers airlifted to Srinagar.