Jammu :  A negligible number of Jammu and Kashmir s youth are now joining militant outfits while a greater number are instead helping in anti-militancy operations, the state police chief said Saturday.

Youth in Jammu and Kashmir are not getting swayed into militancy as in past. There is negligible numbers who are getting recruited into militants ranks. Instead they (youth) are helping us (police) fight militancy and bring in peace and harmony in the state, said Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda.

Khoda was talking to media persons on the sidelines of an official function in mountainous Kishtwar town, about 220 km northeast of Jammu. He said the youth in the state had increasingly started getting away from militancy since 2010. Khoda said there were just a dozen militants left in erstwhile Doda district which is now divided into Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts.

The breakup is seven militants present in Kishtwar district, nil in Doda and five in Ramban. Police had earlier in the year pegged the total number of militants in the state at about 300 to 350 militants. The erstwhile Doda district, adjacent to south Kashmir, was a hub of militancy which at its peak saw some of the most heinous massacres.

On investigations in the blast outside Delhi High Court last year, the DGP said: NIA (National Investigating Agency) is investigating the case. We are on trail of some militants wanted in the case. Once they are caught, the investigation will reach its conclusion.