Srinagar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived here on Saturday for his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir since Article 370 was revoked in August 2019 and drove straight to meet the family of a police officer killed by terrorists earlier this year.

Shah, who will also be visiting Jammu where he will address a public rally, will review the security situation in the Valley during his three-day trip to the union territory and also flag off the inaugural Srinagar-Sharjah flight.

He was received at the Srinagar airport by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and other senior officials of the Jammu and Kashmir administration, officials said.

From the airport, Shah went straight to the residence of Inspector Parvaiz Ahmad in Nowgam on the outskirts of the city. The police officer was shot dead on June 22 as he was returning home after praying at a local mosque.

Shah is scheduled to chair a high-level security review meeting later in the day and flag off the Srinagar-Sharjah flight. He is also likely to interact with members of a youth club here.

This is Shah’s first visit since Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 was revoked on August 5, 2019, and the state bifurcated into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Security was beefed up across Kashmir ahead of Shah’s visit that comes in the wake of the spate of civilians, particularly non-locals and minorities, being killed. Additional forces have been deployed, particularly in the city, officials said.

Fifty companies of additional paramilitary forces, about 5,000 troopers, are being inducted into the Valley.

Bunkers manned by CRPF forces have come up in several areas of the city as well as in other parts of Kashmir valley, the officials said. PTI

Press Trust of India