VDGs to be equipped with assault rifles to fight militants in J&K

Srinagar: To enhance security in terrorist-prone areas of the Jammu region, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is set to approve the replacement of outdated 303 rifles with semi-automatic weapons for Village Defence Group (VDG) members, sources said.

The MHA is also planning to recruit additional VDG members, focusing on youth from regions most vulnerable to terrorist activities, they said. Some VDG members have already received new weapons, and the goal is to eventually arm all VDGs with semi-automatic weapons.

This decision follows an increase in terror attacks in several rural areas of Jammu, where terrorists have been found wielding American M4 carbines and other sophisticated weapons left by NATO troops in Afghanistan post-2021 withdrawal.

“Initially, VDGs in vulnerable hilly areas suspected of harboring foreign terrorists will receive semi-automatic weapons, with all VDGs gradually upgraded,” a senior government official told DH.

District police chiefs have been instructed to provide adequate training to VDGs in handling the new weapons. Simultaneously, new VDGs will be established in hilly areas and routes frequently used by terrorists for infiltration.

The outdated .303 rifles, in use for decades, are being phased out in favor of modern semi-automatic weapons, which are expected to significantly enhance the VDGs' ability to respond swiftly and effectively to security threats.

VDGs, formerly known as Village Defence Committees (VDCs), were first established in the mid-1990s in the Doda-Kishtwar districts of Jammu to arm and train villagers against Pakistan-sponsored militants.

Official figures show there were previously 4,125 VDCs in the union territory, trained by the army in weapons handling and intelligence gathering. These committees not only protect identified villages along the border but also safeguard infrastructural installations in their vicinity.

In 2015, the police department had decided to disengage the VDCs members at the age of 60, but later on the intervention of Union minister Jitendra Singh, who is also MP of Kathua–Doda Parliamentary constituency, it was kept in abeyance.