Wednesday, April 5 2006 15:49 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Jammu: The process of taking over of internal security of Jammu and Kashmir by the Central Reserve Security Force was taking time, as there was a shortage of battalions and officers in the force, CRPF Director General J K Sinha has said.

CRPF has been deployed for internal security in the entire country and there is a shortage of battalions which is the main reason behind the delay in complete takeover of internal security from the Border Security Force (BSF) in Jammu and Kashmir, Sinha, said.

The Director General, who flew in here from Delhi to get the first hand account of the shooting incident outside Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's residence in which three CRPF personnel were killed by its own jawan on Monday told reporters yesterday that the takeover process of internal security in this border state has been taking place in a phased manner.

About the timeframe for completing the process, he said it will take time as we are facing shortage of officers and recruitment process has been going on. As and when we get adequate number of new recruits, we will make deployments, he added.

As the Centre has sanctioned creation of Indian Reserve Police (IRP) battalions, the pressure on Central forces would also get eased, he said and added that at the same time the State Government should improve the working and living conditions of the Central forces.