Retired IPS officer K Vijay Kumar has been appointed as an Advisor to the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir governor along with IAS officer BB Vyas, the Chief Secretary of the state.
Vijayakumar till recently was holding the post of senior security adviser to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Kumar was the chief of the Special Task Force that launched ‘Operation Cocoon’ to nab or kill sandalwood smuggler Veerappan in Tamil Nadu. The success of the operation that ended with the killing of Veerappan made him a household name in Tamil Nadu.
Though the STF had been accused of human rights violations, the clamping down on the sandalwood mafia had come as a big relief to both TN and Karnataka.
"The terms and conditions of their appointment shall be notified separately," a Government Order (GO) stated.
When contacted, Vijay Kumar told TNM, “I would not like to say much at this point, except that I look forward to working under the Governor and the great teams and assets already in place in Jammu and Kashmir.”
A 1975-batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, he has served earlier in the Kashmir Valley, as Inspector General of the Border Security Force (BSF) between 1998 and 2001.
He even served as the Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) between 2010 and 2012, before he was appointed as a senior security advisor.
Governor's rule has been imposed in Jammu and Kashmir following a recommendation by Governor N N Vohra. Earlier this week, the BJP pulled out of the alliance government in the state with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Centre had earlier this month decided not to extend its unilateral initiative, declared on May 16, to coincide with the holy month of Ramzan as terrorist activities continued in the Kashmir Valley.
Accusing the BJP of setting Jammu and Kashmir on "a fire of anarchy and radicalization" in its three years coalition rule with PDP, the Congress on Wednesday sought to know from it and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as to what plans they had for bringing normalcy and peace back to the state.
"The BJP, in its pursuit of power and political opportunism, in the past three years, disrupted the ongoing constructive engagement with the people of the state and has imperilled the security situation, setting the state of Jammu and Kashmir on a fire of anarchy, radicalization, malgovernance and corruption," Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ambika Soni said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Army chief General Bipin Rawat said that the political change in Jammu and Kashmir will not affect anti-terror operations.
"We do not think there will be any change. We don't have any political interference. There has never been a stop on how Army has to carry out its operations. We have very strict rules of engagement and we have been taking actions in accordance with those and will continue to so in the future," Gen Rawat said on the sidelines of an event.
IANS inputs