Were serving terror outfits, not nation: Govt
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 15: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today terminated from services three Government employees including a police constable, a teacher and an orderly in the Forest Department for their links with the terrorists.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
The sacked employees have been identified as police constable Firdous Ahmad Bhat, teacher in School Education Department Mohammad Ashraf Bhat and an Orderly in Forest Department Nisar Ahmad Khan who was earlier arrested in connection with the killing of a National Conference Minister in 2000, the officials said.
A day before the Lieutenant Governor had declared that every perpetrator and supporter of terrorism must pay the price and that we need to equip ourselves with credible intelligence and act more effectively to neutralize the terrorists to ensure security of citizens. He had issue these directions to police at a high level meeting.
The Government crackdown on the employees comes within two days of two consecutive security review meetings by Manoj Sinha in Kashmir and Jammu divisions.
In his directions, Sinha asked police and security agencies to intensify anti-terror operations to neutralize terrorists and their ecosystem operating in the shadows and ensure that those supporting and financing terrorism have to pay a very heavy price.
A senior security official stated that the Government employees sacked by the LG were serving the terrorist organizations and not the nation.
“They were betraying and sabotaging the same country which was feeding them. Firdous Ahmad Bhat, a police constable, was orchestrating the terror attacks instead of protecting lives of a common citizen,” the official said.
The Lieutenant Governor invoked Article 311 (2) (c) of the Constitution to terminate the services of the three employees after investigation by law enforcement and intelligence agencies clearly established their terror links.
Over 70 Government employees have been fired by the LG in the Union Territory for their terror links in the past few years.
The officials said Firdous Bhat, who was arrested in May last year, was initially appointed as Special Police Officer (SPO) in 2005 and subsequently promoted as constable in 2011.
Currently, lodged in Kot Bhalwal Jail, Bhat was posted at a sensitive position of Electronic Surveillance Unit in the J-K Police but started working for terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
However, he got exposed when two terrorists — Waseem Shah and Adnan Beigh — were arrested in Anantnag with a pistol and a hand grenade as they were planning to attack non-local civilians and tourists, the officials said.
During the interrogation, Bhat revealed his sinister design and led to the recovery of a sizable quantity of arms including pistols, ammunition and explosives from his residential quarter in Police Housing Colony in Srinagar and a newly constructed house in Mattan, Anantnag.
According to the officials, 3 kg of charas was also recovered from his residence which was dropped by Pakistan-based LeT terrorist Sajid Jutt alias “Saifullah” through a drone in Samba district a few days earlier.
Using his police constable cover, he was transporting arms, ammunition and explosives for terrorists and investigation also revealed that he was also working for Hizbul Mujahideen’s Commander Khursheed Dar and LeT terrorist Hamza Bhai and Abu Zarar besides Jutt.
“He not only provided classified information about security forces movement, collection, storage and delivery of arms ammunition but also guided terror attacks,” the officials said.
They said he was also found involved in an attack on a police party in 2020 which led to the killing of Sub-Inspector Ashraf Bhat and an attack on a group of tourists in Pahalgam on May 18 last year that left two persons injured.
The officials said he was also involved in radicalizing and luring the youth to join terror ranks besides using terrorists to blackmail Government officials including his colleagues and businessmen.
“He did not spare his colleagues in police department. In one such instance he sent HM terrorists to the house of a Sub-Inspector and also made threatening calls on behalf of LeT to the families of police officers. They were scared so none spoke out,” the officials said.
They said Ashraf Bhat, a resident of Reasi who was appointed as ‘Rehbar-e-Taleem’ Teacher in 2008 and later regularized in June 2013, was affiliated with LeT.
An Intelligence Agency officer based in Jammu disclosed that while working as a teacher, Ashraf pledged allegiance to Lashkar -e-Toiba and became an Over Ground worker. He started attacking the same Indian state which was providing him salary and putting the food on his table. For many years his activities were undetected eventually came to light in 2022 and he was arrested and currently lodged in district jail, Reasi.
During the course of a painstaking investigation, it was revealed that Bhat’s handler was most wanted LeT terrorist Mohd Qasim, who is based in Pakistan.
“LeT found him to be very useful because as a teacher Ashraf Bhat was best placed to radicalize youth and carry out terror activities under the cover of a respectable, noble profession. He helped LeT to raise finances for terror activities and coordinated transport of arms, ammunition and explosives.
“As an active terror associate, Ashraf also used his cover to deliver threat letters to the targeted individuals identified by LeT handlers based in Pakistan. Even after he was arrested he has no remorse for working with terror outfit and in fact while he was lodged in jail, he managed to communicate with some of his handlers in Pakistan through his aides. It is also learnt that he is actively involved in radicalizing inmates in district jail, Reasi,” the officials said.
They also said nowhere in the world you would such example where Government employees are biting the same hand that is feeding them.
“They were drawing their salary from Indian exchequer and their families were getting all the facilities provided by Indian state. But, they were siding with terrorists and adversaries and killing innocent people,” sources added.
Another sacked employee Nisar Ahmad Khan joined the Forest department in 1996 as a helper and currently posted as an Orderly at the Forest Range Office, Verinag, Anantnag.
Top security officials, who have thoroughly investigated his terror links, said that Nisar Khan is venomous traitor hiding within the Government ranks and mole planted by terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen to destabilize the Indian state.
“While working as a Government servant, he covertly joined Hizbul Mujahideen and started collaborating with separatist forces. He traded his loyalty for bloodshed and duty for destruction,” the officials said.
His links with Hizbul Mujahideen first came to light in the year 2000 when a landmine blast took place at Chamaran in Anantnag district. The attack was executed by Hizbul Mujahideen in which Ghulam Hasan Bhat, the then power Minister of J&K was killed. Nasir Khan and another accused had provided logistical support to the terrorists to assassinate the then Minister along with two police personnel.
Nasir also helped in smuggling RDX used in the blast and coordinated the terror attack. He was arrested, charge sheeted but later acquitted in 2006 due to witnesses backtracking, the officials said.
“Those days gun wielding terrorists would roam freely in the villages and people were scared to speak out against Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists. Even officers and witnesses were reluctant to testify against persons like Nasir in the court,” the security officials said.
However, despite his acquittal in 2006, Nasir Khan continued his work for terror group. His role was once again exposed in 2016 and he played a central role during the valley’s unrest following killing of HM terrorist, Burhan Wani.
“He mobilised mobs, incited violent protests and transformed the streets into terror battleground. He also mobilised youth for stone pelting and arranged weapons to attack security forces. During that period 4 FIRs were lodged against him. After the killing of another HM terrorist Yawar Nisar Wagay in 2017, Nasir once again played a key role in organizing stone pelting and attacks against security forces. He was detained under PSA for 8 months.
“However, no departmental action was taken against him because his senior officers were scared of him. Officers in criminal justice system too were intimidated so he has continued his work as an asset of HM terror outfit and providing support to carry out attacks on civilians and police personnel,” the officials said.
The post LG sacks 3 more Govt employees including cop for terror links appeared first on Daily Excelsior.