New Delhi/Srinagar, Dec 3 (TIWN) The incidents of terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir have declined after the abrogation of the Constitution's Article 370 on August 5, with just 88 incidents reported in 115 days since then, Parliament was told on Tuesday.

The sources said that there were close to 90 recruits till the end of the July but since August, the numbers have dipped. On average, 12-13 youth were joining terror groups each month before the abrogation of Article 370. 

"The slow recruitment in the last four months has brought down the numbers dramatically in comparison to the previous years," said a source. 

Last year, the number of local recruits was 214, while this year it went down to 110, as recorded till November end.  Article 370 of the Indian Constitution gave special powers to Jammu and Kashmir and with the removal of the provision, the Narendra Modi-led government turned the state into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.  Officials said that despite attempts by Pakistan to fuel terror and enhance recruitment, the opposite happened mainly due to the internet clampdown. 

"Social media, WhatsApp in particular, was used in the past to mobilise mobs for carrying out incidents like stone pelting at security forces. It had also become a crucial tool for terror recruitment," an official said.