{"id":194452,"date":"2026-02-08T12:34:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T07:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/?p=194452"},"modified":"2026-02-08T12:34:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T07:34:56","slug":"india-strengthens-vdgs-near-loc-raising-fears-of-new-civilian-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/2026\/02\/08\/india-strengthens-vdgs-near-loc-raising-fears-of-new-civilian-crackdown.html","title":{"rendered":"India strengthens VDGs near LoC, raising fears of new civilian crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jammu: In a fresh attempt to tighten its grip over the Kashmiri population living near the Line of Control, the Indian regime reviewed the operational preparedness of Village Defence Guards (VDGs), notorious for their involvement in civilian killings in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.<\/p>\n

According to Kashmir Media Service, Jammu South SP Ajay Sharma chaired the meeting in Jammu, which focused on enhancing area familiarisation, operational readiness, and the VDGs\u2019 role in surveilling sensitive pockets.<\/p>\n

Sharma stressed the importance of VDGs\u2019 local knowledge and alertness in preventing pro-freedom activities, while calling for close coordination with police and Indian armed forces. VDGs were instructed to immediately report any \u201cuntoward\u201d activity.<\/p>\n

The revival and strengthening of VDGs comes against the backdrop of their documented participation in civilian killings, raising concerns that the move may further entrench violence and oppression in the region.<\/p>\n

Critics warn that such initiatives by the Indian occupation authorities risk escalating human rights abuses and perpetuating a climate of fear among Kashmiri civilians in the occupied territory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jammu: In a fresh attempt to tighten its grip over the Kashmiri population living near the Line of Control, the Indian regime reviewed the operational preparedness of Village Defence Guards (VDGs), notorious for their involvement in civilian killings in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to Kashmir Media Service, Jammu South SP Ajay Sharma chaired the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":194453,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-194452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jammu"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t