Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said there has been an increase in the number of youth who have joined militancy in 2017.
"Number of youths who joined militancy in 2017 is 126, while in 2016 the number was 88 and in 2015, it was 66," the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said in a written reply in the state assembly.
According to the date, 2017 has been marked as the year of highest recruitment of youth in militant groups in the last seven years.
The data placed before Parliament in March last year, showed a steady hike in the number of youths taking up arms in the Valley from 2014 onwards, as compared to 2011, 2012 and 2013.
This rush in locals joining militancy was witnessed after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Burhan Wani in an encounter in South Kashmir on July 8, 2016.
Mufti further said that certain Separatist leaders including two women were detained in terms of the provisions of the Public Safety Act, 1978 to prevent them from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the state or maintenance of the public order.
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