The Union home ministry has approved the deployment of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel for security in five Jammu and Kashmir jails due to heightened safety concerns.
Earlier, the jails were secured by the J&K police and prison department, but the new approval will see CISF personnel take charge of security within the next few days.
The move comes after the Pahalgam attack, with the UT on high alert and a special focus on the jails within the UT.
The four district jails in Anantnag, Kupwara, Baramulla, and Udhampur currently hold around 1,300 prisoners, while two central jails in Srinagar and Jammu are already under CISF's security cover with over 1,600 prisoners.
There are nearly 5,000 prisoners across different jails in J&K, and agencies have been conducting safety drills in jails across the Union Territory, simulating situations such as jail breaks and terror attacks.
