Srinagar, June 08: The Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha has terminated 4 employees from the service in the interest of security of the state.
According to top sources in the J&K government, the Lieutenant Governor Sinha invoked 311 (2) (c) of the Constitution of India to sack the 4 government employees after painstaking investigation clearly established that they were acting on behalf of Pakistan ISI and the terror outfits and law enforcement and intelligence agencies had collected incriminating material evidence against them.
Following zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, Sinha in his crackdown against terrorism has so far terminated services of more than 50 employees who were working for terror outfits and Pakistan ISI.
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Details of these 4 employees, working as terror associates as follows:
1. Abdul Rehman Dar (Constable J&K Police)
He was recruited as a constable in Jammu and Kashmir Police in its Executive Wing in 2002. After completing his BRTC course at Police Training School Kathua, he was posted in a reserve Police company for law & order, based in Srinagar. Thereafter he was transferred to Kargil where he remained posted till 2009. In 2009, he was transferred and posted to District Budgam and continues to be posted there till date. He is currently under suspension.
Abdul Rehman Dar belongs to Tral area of Pulwama District, which has remained traditionally a hotbed of terrorism and secessionist activities during last three decades, largely due to a strong influence of Jamat-e-Islami, (now banned) in the area. The secessionist and terrorist contamination of local Policemen from Tral area came to be a serious problem in 2004-06 and to overcome this threat the Police department transferred and posted a large number of policemen who were natives of Tral area to Ladakh division.
While almost all the policemen vulnerable to JeI and terrorist propaganda and trap, stayed away from any wrongdoing, a few like he continued their willful collaboration with terrorists. True to the adage, that a man is known by the company he keeps Abdul Rehman came to be known locally being always in company of those persons in his area who were working as Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of terror outfits. This was revealed in discreet enquiries made for him. One such close associate of Abdul Rehman was his neighbor Sajad Hussain Parray, a staunch Over Ground Worker (OGW). He, inspite of being a government employee was also doing private business with Sajad dealing with readymade garments. He and Sajad in times to come would become the most trusted accomplice of several terrorist commanders operating in Tral area.
The story of Abdul Rehman Dar further unfolds like this:
On 24.12.2020, Awantipora Police along with other security forces cordoned off village Dadsara and Larmoo. During search operation, 04 suspicious persons were found roaming in the orchards of Dadsara area, who were later apprehended by security forces.
On preliminary questioning, they admitted to be OGWs of terrorist outfit Al-Badr and disclosed their names as;
(i) Showkat Ahmad Dar S/o Gulzar Ahmad Dar R/o Dadsara, Awantipora.
(ii) Aabid Majeed Sheikh S/o Abdul Majeed Sheikh R/o Dadsara, Awantipora.
(iii) Yawar Aziz Dar S/o Abdul Aziz Dar R/o Larmoo, Awantipora.
(iv) Sajjad Hussain ParrayS/o Ab. Rehman Parray R/o Larmoo, Awantipora.
During the subsequent search, AK-56 Rifle (01 No.), Magazine (01 No.), 28 Rounds, Chinese hand grenade (01 No.), were recovered from their possession.
Evidences collected, it has transpired that the accused hatched a criminal conspiracy to procure illegal arms and ammunition with the intent of committing terrorist acts in association with an active terrorist namely Umer Ali Mir (who later got eliminated in an encounter by the security forces). However, due to the timely action of J&K Police, the accused were arrested with recovery of arms/ammunition from them. This way Police was able to prevent further terror attacks saving lives of many people. The case has been charge sheeted against all the accused persons including Abdul Rehman Dar, who has been bailed out in the said case.
It also came to fore during investigation of the case that Abdul Rehman Dar did not commit this illegal act solely for the greed of money but also due to his sympathies towards terrorism, both as an ideology and a violent campaign. He came to be exposed as a mole of terrorists planted within the Police department in District Budgam where he had connection with another tainted Constable Gh. Rasool Bhat who had access to hundreds of weapons and thousands of live rounds of ammunitions, and other explosives and through Abdul Rehman Dar they were transporting illegal arms/ammunition from Budgam to Tral which were provided by Constable Gh. Rasool Bhat. Given the fact the Abdul Rehman Dar was very well versed with interrogation techniques of Police and despite the best efforts of the interrogating team he did not disclose or admit about transporting ammunition to terrorists in the past. It has been strongly suggested that he has been supplying ammunition and transporting the weapons of terrorists for a long time. However, this intelligence could not be converted to admissible evidence in the court of law for the simple reason that routine procedures and practices of availability of willing witnesses and fear-free environment for investigating officers, prosecuting officers and adjudicating officers were no longer available. The sway of terrorism and the stranglehold of terrorist-separatist networks had severely undermined and eroded the edifice of the rule of law. But the fact remains that Abdul Rehman Dar has been a long term supplier of arms and ammunition to terrorists, for nearly a decade before his cover was blown up. It has come to fore that he was not only transporting arms and ammunition, he was also providing camouflage uniform cloths and other materials to the terrorists. It is relevant to note that he was also dealing with uniform items in Budgam Police Lines. Such a dangerous mole of the adversary being placed at a critically sensitive position where thousands of lives are at stake is a grave security risk. A major tragedy of serious implications was averted by his arrest.
Abdul Rehman Dar took undue and criminal advantage of his uniform as well as his credentials of being a person in the uniform.
He would always go unnoticed at Police/Army Naka points, where he would use his Police Identity Card to avoid detection of any of his wrongdoings especially the transfer of illegal arms/ammunitions. His activities included providing skilled logistical support to the terror outfits, remained undetected over the years, because of him being a member of the Police force. Instead of helping his department in the fight against terror, which he was mandated to do, he chose to be a collaborator and a mole, thus betraying his oath and dignity of his uniform.
A senior government official said, “Continuation of Abdul Rehman Dar in the Police department would have set an extremely dangerous precedent, having far reaching detrimental consequences to national security and also the society at large. He not only has betrayed his country but also his fellow colleagues. Many of his comrades in J&K Police, living, working, training and dinning with him have got killed or injured by the very bullets that were transported by him to the terrorists”.
2. Anayatullah Shah Pirzada ( Asstt. Lineman, Jal Shakti Department)
Anayatullah Shah Pirzada was appointed as a ‘helper’ in Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department, now Jal Shakti, in 1995 and was deployed in Jal Shakti (PHE) Division Baramulla where he continued to be posted up to 2009, the year he got promoted to Asst. Lineman. From 2009 to 2013 he remained posted in Jal Shakti Division North Sopore and is currently posted at Watergam, Baramulla.
As per records Anayatullah Shah is a terrorist associate of Al-Badr Mujahideen, a proscribed terror outfit, who readily offered himself in furthering anti-national activities and gradually turned himself into an effective worker and organiser for the terrorist groups.
He worked covertly in a variety of ways to support, sustain and further the agenda of the terrorism. Individuals like him do not usually wield arms and participate in terrorist violence directly but assist, abet, and aid the terrorists in several ways including receiving infiltrating terrorists groups from across the border and settling them in J&K, guiding them through, not only by logistic support but also informing them about movements of security forces to escape Cordon and Search Operations (CASO) and also helping them in dodging the Security check points, nakas and patrols of Police and security forces, using their knowledge of the local terrain and that of security force deployment patterns.
Anayatullah Shah being a resident of Rafiabad area of District Baramulla, which is in proximity of LoC, would guide terrorist groups during infiltration and helping them by way of providing accommodation, hideouts, food, clothing, managing fake identity cards for them and transport their illegal arms/ammunition from one place to another place to help them to reach the hinterland of Kashmir valley. Over a period of time, Anayatullah Shah turned into a hardcore admirer and a staunch follower of banned terror outfit Al-Badr Mujahideen and came to be known as one of the most important and trustworthy over ground worker (OGW) of this terror outfit.
He got very close to the then Al-Badar Mujahideen Chief Operations Commander Yousuf Baloch (a dreaded Pakistani terrorist who operated in Kashmir especially in Rafiabad during 1990s and early 2000s before escaping back to Pakistan. He continues to head Al-Badar Mujahideen outfit, now operating from Pakistan and at times from Afghanistan). He evolved as the righthand man of Yousuf Baloch. After Baloch’s escape to Pakistan, he was instructed to work with another Al-Badar Mujahideen Pakistani terrorist commander Tameem who got ultimately killed in 2008.
“Al-Badr is a designated terrorist outfit proscribed by Government of India in 2002 and, also a designated terrorist outfit by the United States of America. Being part of the United Jihad Council (UJC), which is based in Pakistan Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) and which is supported, financed and equipped by the ISI of Pakistan Army, Al-Badr outfit has emerged as the most lethal terrorist outfit involved in numerous terrorist attacks in J&K and other places in the Union of India.”
Exploiting this huge influence of terrorist network, Anayatullah Shah managed a job for himself in the government, using similar tactics of duress, coercion, threat and intimidation, like many hundred others who managed their entry in government services on gun point, in the hay days of terrorism and continued, though in smaller proportions, until 2018.
Sources said, Anayatullah Shah direct links and contact with terrorists of proscribed terror outfit Al-Badr Mujahideen was established through investigations and his active involvement in terrorist activities in J&K makes him a pervasive and a real threat to the interests of security of the state. Sources further said that his continuation in the PHE department would set an extremely dangerous precedent, having far reaching detrimental consequences to national security and the society.
3. Ghulam Rasool Bhat ( Constable, J&K Police)
He was recruited as a constable in Jammu and Kashmir Police in its Executive wing in 2011. After completing his BRTC course at CTC Lethpora, he was transferred to District Budgam in 2012 and remained posted as an Assistant Kote NCO (Armoury Keeper) from 2017 onwards in Budgam District Police Lines. Gh. Rasool Bhat has always had subscribed to secessionist and radical ideology. This however, surfaced and came to notice subsequently during his interrogation and other discreet enquires.
Sources said, he was inducted into active terrorism by a network of over ground workers (OGWs) and terrorists of the Lalgam Tral area, of which Gh. Rasool Bhat is a native of. Pertinently, the area around Tral has remained a hot bed of Pakistan sponsored terrorism since 1989, primarily due to the influence of banned organization Jamat-e-Islami in the area. Under the guidance of the OGWs/Terrorists. Sources said, he got himself posted as an Assistant Kote NCO in Budgam District Police Lines (Kote is a facility in Police Lines meant for storing and repairing weapons) and managed his continuous posting there for many years with the ulterior and nefarious aim to provide technical support to terrorists for the repair and maintenance of their firearms as well as arrange ammunition for them.
4. Shabeer Ahmad Wani (Teacher, School Education Department)
Shabeer Ahmad Wani, a resident of Bungam D.H. Pora, Kulgam has been working as a Teacher in School Education Department. He was initially engaged under the Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) scheme in 2004 and later got regularised as permanent Teacher.Shabeer. Ahmad Wani, is an active member (rukun) of banned Jamat-e-Islami (JeI). Besides, being actively involved in organising and taking lead role in JeI related programmes in Kulgam area, he like everyone else in JeI has been a strong protagonist of secession of J&K from India. Shabeer played a pivotal role in nourishing, strengthening and proliferating conducive ecosystem for secessionism and terrorism, not only in his local area but also in the neighbouring districts of Shopian and Anantnag. It is largely by the virtue of JeI activities in South Kashmir especially in Kulgam, known as the hotbed of banned JeI, that terrorist enjoyed a field day and large base of OGWs terror networks and modules sprung in every nook and corner in the area.
Sources said, Shabeer Ahmad Wani, for being an active functionary of JeI played a substantial role in his sphere of influence in strengthening JeI and creating a network of people amongst JeI sympathizers who became the OGWs and foot soldiers of Hizbul-Mujahideen (HM) terror outfit. As being a part and parcel of the JeI system, he got naturally introduced and attracted to Hizbul Mujhahideen (HM) terror outfit cadres, as it is widely known that HM has been the military wing of JeI.
According to an official, while drawing his sustenance from the government, Shabeer would attend for his official duties as a teacher marring the educational career of children, and instead would engage himself as an effective and powerful activist of JeI and terror outfits like Hizbul-Mujahideen (HM).
It is worthwhile to mention here that South Kashmir in general and Kulgam in particular has remained an epicentre of terrorist violence prior to abrogation of Article 370. He acted as a vital figure propagating disaffection towards the state and its institutions, by disrupting the public peace and tranquillity as is evident by a number of FIRs registered against him in Police Station D.H Pora. He was behind the bars under PSA/FIRs multiple times before being released and thereafter has resumed his duties without facing any consequences for this grave criminal misconduct and long absence from duty.
Sources said, the valley saw major unrests in the years of 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2016, which affected the whole of valley resulting in precious loss of human lives and damages to public and private property besides colossal losses to local economy in thousands of crores. Shabeer Ahmad Wani was at the forefront of inciting and instigating violence in all these years and played a prominent role in enforcing shutdowns in the local area, despite facing resistance from the peace loving people and people in D.H Pora area have been most averse to such strike calls. Things however were startlingly different in 2016, when he using his influence with terror elements was able to keep D.H Pora on boil. It is to mention here with great alacrity that the prolonged organized rioting in 2016 around D.H Pora, Kulgam was unique in its nature and outbreak. As already mentioned, D.H Pora, traditionally a peaceful area, in an otherwise disturbed belt of Kulgam-Shopian-Anantnag and generally unaffected by such agitations, saw widespread violent agitation and incidents of attacks on the police/ security force establishments wherein dozens of weapons were looted which ultimately fell into the hands of terrorists and resultantly led to the killing many innocent souls. The unique blend of terrorism and street violence in D.H Pora in which he played a prominent role affected the entire area resulting in many years of terrorist violence until the situation was again brought under control post abrogation of Article 370.
All this was largely facilitated by him, as is discussed in the subsequent paras;
(i) On 09.07.2016, Shabeer Ahmad Wani led an unlawful assembly in D.H Pora of Kulgam District and provoked/instigated the people against the state/government of India. He motivated the unruly mob who set ablaze Police Station D.H Pora, due to which some police personnel got seriously injured and the violent rioters also looted arms/ammunition of the Police Station. In this regard, case FIR No. 103/2016 under sections 147, 148, 149, 307, 336,427, 332, 225, 392, 364, 436RPC, PPSA, 7/25, 7/27 Arms Act stands registered in Police Station D.H Pora.
(ii) After setting the Police Station on fire the violent rioting mob under guidance of Shabeer moved towards the Court Complex of D.H Pora, set ablaze the court building/JMIC residence and attempted to snatch the arms/ammunition from the police personnel deployed there in the court premises. The security personnel exhibiting bravery safeguarded their arms/ammunition. However, during the ensuing scuffle, a few police personnel were injured. In this regard, case FIR No. 104/2016 u/s 147, 148, 149, 336, 307, 332, 427, 392, 436 RPC, 13 UA(P)A Act, 3 PPSA Act stands registered in Police Station D.H Pora. During the course of investigation, he was found involved in the commission of crime.
(iii) On 09.07.2016, after setting the Court building on fire, Shabeer further instigated the mob and led an unlawful assembly towards the Army Camp deployed at D.H Pora. He provoked the unruly mob to pelt stones upon the Army Camp and tried to set the Army Camp on fire by hurling petrol bombs with the intention to kill Army personnel. However, the army deployed in Camp fired aerial shots and dispersed the unruly mob. In this regard, case FIR No. 105/2016 under sections 147, 148, 149, 307, 336,427, 436, 511 RPC, 3 PPSA, 7/25, 7/27 Arms Act stands registered in Police Station D.H Pora. During investigation of the case, he was found involved in the commission of crime. Had the rioters been successful, breaking into the Army camp, it would have had disastrous consequences in terms of loss of dozens of human lives.
According to officials in law enforcement agencies, Shabeer was detained under Public Safety Act by the orders of District Magistrate Kulgam vide order No. 41/DMK/PSA/19 dated 08.08.2019 and was lodged in Central Jail Agra, Uttar Pradesh for a period of 01 year.
“The brazen and blatant activities of Shabeer, against the very government which he draws his livelihood from and leading murderous mobs to loot weapons is a sheer act of treason which no country in the world would tolerate. This case is another instance of physical manifestation of the penetration of the adversary as well as the sinister strategy employed by the adversary involved in infiltrating individuals into the government system,” the officials further added.
Another source pointed out that such strategy like the one adopted by Shabeer, aims to pursue two main objectives: firstly, to sustain their terror campaign in the long term by maintaining support while securing financial incentives from the Indian state exchequer, and secondly, to protect assets such as Shabeer Ahmad, Rasool, Dar and Anaytullah by undermining and subverting the system from within.
