New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha Tuesday dismissed five government employees from service on the charges of being linked to terrorist outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Sources in the Union Territory administration identified the sacked officials as Mohammed Ishfaq, Tariq Ahmad Rah, Bashir Ahmad Mir, Farooq Ahmad Bhat and Mohammed Yousf. With Tuesday’s termination, the number of government employees sacked since 2021 is now more than 85, sources in the administration said.
In August last year, Sinha sacked a teacher and an assistant stockman in Kupwara on grounds of their collusion with the Lashkar.
These terminations were effected by the L-G under Article 311 (2) (c) of the Constitution, which allows termination of government employees in the interest of the security of the state, without the necessity of an inquiry.
“These active associates, who were planted within government machinery by terror outfits and Pakistan ISI, are time bombs. They infiltrated the system over the last several decades to weaken the government machinery and to jeopardise national security,” a source in the UT administration said.
Ishfaq was arrested in April 2022 before he could carry out the plan to kill a police officer in Doda. Having joined the service under the Rehbar-e-Taleem (a teacher recruitment scheme) to impart education through community leaders, Ishfaq was confirmed as a teacher in 2013.
However, sources said that he was found to be involved in influencing youth to join terror groups and worked hand in glove with Pakistan-based Lashkar commander Mohammed Amin alias Abu Khubaib.
After his arrest, the sources said that police recovered arms and ammunition from premises linked to Ishfaq.
“He used his influence to spread radical ideology, motivate youth towards terrorism, and disrupt the peace and progress of J&K. Ishfaq, being a teacher with unhindered access to young and impressionable minds, was a critical asset of LeT. We have received inputs that, despite being in jail, Ishfaq continues to indulge in radical activities by indoctrinating jail inmates,” one of the sources told ThePrint.
Similarly, Tariq Ahmad Rah, who was hired as a lab technician on a contractual basis in 2011 and confirmed in 2016 with the health department, was arrested by the State Investigation Agency (SIA), after his alleged role emerged in helping his uncle and former divisional commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Amin Baba, cross over to Pakistan in 2005. The case was handed over to the SIA in 2023.
Sources said that Tariq was under the influence of terrorist groups from a young age and he facilitated Baba’s stay in Anantnag, where he was posted, as well as arranged his travel to the Attari-Wagah border.
“Tariq ensured the exfiltration of a wanted terrorist across an international border. Due to his conspiracy, Amin Baba successfully crossed over to Pakistan and is currently operating from there to carry out terrorist activities,” the above-mentioned source said.
The sources in the intelligence agencies claim that Baba attended regular meetings with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), as well as terrorists from Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
“He is responsible not only for the training of Hizbul cadres in terror camps but also for recruiting youth into the terror fold and to plan and execute terrorist operations from Pakistan. After his role was uncovered, Tariq was arrested under the UAPA and later granted bail,” one of the intelligence sources said.
“Credible intelligence inputs indicate that after being released on bail, Tariq resumed his terror activities and remained in contact with terrorists and their supporters.”
Farooq Ahmad Bhat, who was appointed as a field worker in the forest department, was found complicit in the plan to help Baba cross over to Pakistan. Arrested in 2024, he was granted bail last year, according to the sources.
Bhat was working informally as a personal assistant to a former MLA and had helped Baba escape by using his government identity card to avoid security checks, they said. He also used the vehicle of the MLA and his driver to drop Baba at the international border.
On the other hand, Bashir Ahmad Mir was appointed to the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department in 1988 and regularised in 1996 as an assistant lineman.
Mir went on to become an overground worker (OGW) in the Gurez area of Bandipora district, the sources said, adding that he was found to be guiding terrorists, providing them with logistical support and shelter, and sharing information on the movement of security forces.
He came in the security agencies’ radar in September 2021 when the police received inputs that two LeT terrorists were hiding in his house. The two terrorists were eliminated in an operation at his house.
“Two AK-47s and a large cache of ammunition were recovered. He was arrested and later given medical bail by the court. Individuals like Bashir embedded deep within the government system, drawing salaries from the Indian exchequer while covertly serving the enemy, pose a dangerous threat to the country’s sovereignty and integrity,” one of the sources said.
Even as he worked as a driver in the health and medical education department, Mohd Yousf maintained active links with Hizbul cadres, especially Pakistan-based commander Bashir Ahmad Bhat, on whose instructions he oversaw the transport of ammunition and the movement of funds in Ganderbal district.
During the delivery of one such consignment, sources said, Yousf was arrested along with his associate Eashan Hamid in July 2024. From the vehicle, the police recovered one pistol, ammunition, a grenade and Rs 5 lakh in currency.
“During the sustained interrogation, Yousf revealed that he received the consignment at the direction of his Pakistani handler, and it was to be delivered to a terrorist,” one of the sources said.
Yousf revealed that he was actively involved in providing operational logistics to terrorists using his official position as a hospital driver, the source said, adding that he was also part of a network which provided phones to jailed terrorists to establish communication with Pakistan-based terrorists.
(Edited by Tony Rai)