What! A constable of Kashmir police joined Hizbul Mujahideen!

Srinagar: A constable of Jammu and Kashmir police, who had decamped with four weapons, has joined Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) in the Kashmir valley, official sources said here. Constable Syed Naveed Mushtaq, a resident of Shopian in south Kashmir, had decamped with four Self Loading Rifles (SLR) from the guard room of Food Corporation of India (FCI) at Badgam on Saturday evening, the sources said. A spokesman for the HM informed local media that Naveed has joined the outfit. About 50 youths have joined militancy in south Kashmir during the past one year.

In January last year, Shakoor Ahmed, a personal security officer (PSO) of Deputy Superintendent of police Bijbehara in Anantnag district had escaped from the residence of the officer with four service rifles. In a similar incident earlier, a police constable named Nazir Pandit posted as a security guard of the then Roads and Buildings minister Syed Altaf Bukhari, had decamped with two AK-47 rifles in Srinagar. However, majority of the looted weapons were recovered by the security forces. (UNI)