BY EOK NEWS DESK
Jammu, Feb 15: The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha ordered the sacking of three government employees, including a jailed police constable, for involvement in activities linked to terror groups, officials said on Saturday.
The sacked individuals include police constable Firdous Ahmad Bhat, school teacher Mohammad Ashraf Bhat, and forest department orderly Nisar Ahmad Khan, all accused of aiding terror outfits, officials said. The decision was taken under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution, which allows termination without an inquiry in cases involving national security concerns.
Officials said the crackdown came a day after the LG chaired a high-level security review meeting, where he instructed security forces to intensify anti-terror operations and dismantle the terror ecosystem.
“Every perpetrator and supporter of terrorism must pay the price. We need to equip ourselves with credible intelligence and act more effectively to neutralize terrorists and ensure the security of citizens,” LG Sinha had directed senior officials on February 13.
Officials said that Firdous Ahmad Bhat, who was initially engaged as an SPO in 2005 and later promoted to constable in 2011, was arrested in May 2024 and is currently lodged in Kot Bhalwal Jail on terror charges. He was posted in the Electronic Surveillance Unit of J&K Police, a sensitive position, but was working for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
“He was serving the terrorist organizations, not the nation. Instead of protecting lives, he was orchestrating terror attacks,” officials said.
Bhat’s activities were uncovered when two LeT operatives, Waseem Shah and Adnan Beigh, were arrested in Anantnag with weapons. Investigations revealed that Bhat had directed local terrorists Omas and Aquib to supply arms to them for planned attacks on non-local civilians and tourists.
During interrogations, Bhat disclosed his involvement in terror activities, leading to the seizure of weapons, explosives, and narcotics from his residential quarters in Police Housing Colony, Srinagar, and his house in Mattan, Anantnag. Officials also found 3 kg of charas that had been dropped via drone by Pakistan-based LeT terrorist Sajid Jutt alias Saifullah in Samba.
Officials further said that Bhat had close ties with Hizbul Mujahideen commander Khursheed Dar and LeT operatives Hamza Bhai and Abu Zarar, and he used his position in the police force to transport arms and ammunition, identify targets, and guide terror attacks.
“In 2020, he guided LeT terrorists, leading to the killing of J&K Police Sub-Inspector Ashraf Bhat. On May 18, 2024, he provided the target and directions for an attack on tourists in Pahalgam, where two visitors from Rajasthan were injured. He was also radicalizing youth and using his police cover to move weapons for militants,” officials stated.
Official also revealed that Bhat would send terrorists to the homes of government officers and businessmen to intimidate them.
“He even targeted his colleagues in the police department. In one case, he sent Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists to the house of a sub-inspector and also made threatening calls to police officers’ families on behalf of LeT,” the officials added.
Officials said Nisar Ahmad Khan, an orderly in the forest department, had deep-rooted ties with Hizbul Mujahideen, dating back to the early 2000s. He had joined the department in 1996 and was currently posted in Verinag, Anantnag.
“He was a mole planted by Hizbul Mujahideen within government ranks,” officials said.
His links first surfaced in 2000, when he helped execute a landmine attack in Chamaran, Anantnag, killing then J&K Power Minister Ghulam Hasan Bhat and two policemen. Investigations revealed that Khan provided logistical support and smuggled RDX used in the blast.
Though he was arrested and charge-sheeted, Khan was acquitted in 2006 due to witnesses retracting their statements under intimidation.
“It was not an honorable acquittal. Arms and a wireless set were recovered from his house, but back then, terrorists freely roamed the villages, and witnesses were too scared to testify,” officials explained.
Despite his release, Khan continued aiding Hizbul Mujahideen. His role resurfaced during the 2016 unrest following the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, where he was accused of inciting violent protests and organizing stone-pelting. He was later named in four FIRs.
“He mobilized mobs, encouraged stone-pelting, and even arranged weapons for attacks on security forces. In 2017, after the killing of Hizbul terrorist Yawar Nisar Wagay, he once again played a key role in organizing protests,” officials said.
He was later detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for eight months, but his department did not take action due to fear.
“Even criminal justice officers were intimidated, allowing him to continue his activities as a key asset for Hizbul Mujahideen,” officials added.
Mohammad Ashraf Bhat, a resident of Reasi, was appointed as a Rehbar-e-Taleem teacher in 2008 and regularized in 2013. However, intelligence officials said he was an active overground worker for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
“While being paid by the Indian government, he was working for a Pakistan-based terror group,” officials said.
His activities remained undetected for years, but in 2022, he was arrested and is currently lodged in Reasi district jail. Officials say his handler was Pakistan-based LeT terrorist Mohammad Qasim.
“LeT saw him as an asset because, as a teacher, he had access to young minds and could radicalize them. He also helped raise funds, transported arms, and delivered threat letters to targets identified by handlers in Pakistan,” officials said.
Even after his arrest, officials say he continued to maintain contact with LeT operatives from jail and radicalized other inmates.