Six Jammu and Kashmir govt employees sacked for terror links
Six employees of the Jammu and Kashmir government, including two police constables, were sacked on Wednesday for alleged links with terrorists, officials said. These sackings were cleared by a designated committee of the Jammu and Kashmir administration constituted for recommending cases under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution.
The six employees were dismissed from government service for having terror links and working as Over Ground Workers (OGW).
They included Abdul Hamid Wani, a resident of Bijbehara in Anantnag, who was working as a teacher. The officials alleged that before being in government service, he was a district commander of the now-defunct terrorist outfit, Allah Tigers.
It is alleged that he secured employment without any selection process, by leveraging the influence of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and that he was among the key speakers and organizers during the 2016 agitations following the death of Burhan Wani, the poster boy of banned terror group Hizbul Mujahideen.
It is also alleged that he propagated secessionist ideology.
Police constable Jaffer Hussain Butt, a resident of Kishtwar in Jammu region, was arrested by the police and chargesheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a case on gun-running, the officials said.
At present on bail, Butt is alleged to have provided his car to Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists and facilitated their safe movement, a fact which is explained in the NIA chargesheet.
Junior assistant Mohd Rafi Butt, also a resident of Kishtwar and posted in the Road and Building Department, was sacked for providing logistical support to Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists in Kishtwar and for providing them a safe environment to execute terror plans, they said.
His name also figures in an FIR registered by the NIA. He was arrested and is at present on bail.
Liyaqat Ali Kakroo, a resident of Baramulla in North Kashmir and a teacher by profession since 1983, was arrested in 2001 which "revealed that he was a locally trained terrorist", they said.
An explosive substance was recovered from his possession and he was booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for two years in 2002. He was subsequently acquitted by the court in both cases.
Tariq Mehmood Kohli, a resident of Poonch and posted as a range officer in the Forest Department, was also sacked for allegedly being involved in smuggling of illegal arms, ammunition, explosives, including hard drugs and Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) from Pakistan, the officials said.
He is alleged to have remained in touch with active militants and is recorded as an OGW in police records.
Another police constable, Showkat Ahmad Khan, a resident of Budgam in Central Kashmir, is alleged to have been involved in looting of weapons from an MLC's house. He was posted as a PSO with the member of the Legislative Council. He was detained under the PSA in 2019, they said.
(With PTI inputs)
