“It is surprising that over 45 columns have been deployed in such a small area where the Army already has a lot of other commitments. Riot control is different but the Army is also being asked to impose curfew. This is a job of the police,” said a senior officer in Jammu.

Experts say the military should only be deployed to maintain critical installations like the national highway or the railway line. What has surprised the Armed Forces is that even after two weeks of violent protests, the Centre has not sent paramilitary forces in large numbers.

Sources in Jammu said only two columns of central paramilitary forces have been sent so far. This is in stark contrast to the Gurjjar agitation where the Centre sent in more than 100 columns of paramilitary forces.

This, even after the Defence Minister made it clear last month that Armed Forces should be used as the last resort and law and order issues should only be handled by the police and paramilitary forces.