Jammu: A dozen persons, including the brother of a senior Congress leader, were booked in two separate FIRs for their alleged links with Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said Tuesday.
While six persons, who were named in one of the FIRs were arrested, six others, including Mohammad Shafi, the brother of state Congress vice-president and former minister GM Saroori, are at large and efforts are on to nab them, police said.
“I came to know about it (naming of Mohammad Shafi in the FIR) just now and was shocked… Our people can never do such a thing. Tomorrow, I will try to find out what is the matter,” GM Saroori told this agency.
The officials said Shafi and five others – Masood Ahmad Mattoo, Mohammad Muzaffar Shah, Ghulam Mohammad, Tawseef Ahmad Gandna and Syed Ahmad – were named in FIR (No:229/2019) and are accused of providing shelter and transport to active terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen to carry out their activities.
They were also charged of conspiring with the terrorists of the outfit to harm the integrity of the nation, besides providing information of security installations to the terrorists, including Mohammad Amin alias ‘Jehangir Saroori’, to carry out attacks, the officials said, adding they were booked under various sections of the unlawful activities(prevention) act.
After being declared terrorism free over a decade ago, Kishtwar district was rocked by killing of four persons, including a senior BJP leader and an RSS functionary, and two weapons snatching incidents since November last year.
Three hardcore terrorists, including Osama who was the brain behind the revival of militancy in the district, were killed in an encounter with security forces at Batote along Jammu-Kishtwar highway on Saturday.
Senior BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother Ajit Parihar were killed in Kishtwar town, November 1, 2018, while RSS functionary Chanderkant Sharma and his PSO were assassinated, April 9.
PTI