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Time of India
a day ago
- General
- Time of India
Teacher and cop among three govt employees sacked for anti-national activities in J&K
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Srinagar: Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday terminated the services of three more government employees, including a policeman and a teacher, for their alleged involvement in anti-national activities The three employees were identified as Malik Ishfaq Naseer, a J&K Police constable from Anantnag; Ajaz Ahmad, a teacher in the school education department, from Poonch; and Waseem Ahmad Khan, junior assistant in the Health and Medical Education Department, hailing from alleged that the three had links to orders issued by the administration stated that the lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir was satisfied that after considering the facts and circumstances of the case and on the basis of the information available that their activities were such as to warrant their dismissal from service under Article 311 (2) (c) of the Constitution, without any of as many as 78 government employees have been terminated since the J&K administration constituted a task force in 2021 to scrutinise government employees suspect of activities requiring action under Article 311(2)(c).
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
3 Jammu and Kashmir govt employees sacked for terror links
Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday sacked three government employees, including a police constable, a school teacher and an assistant in the J&K health education department for their alleged terror links. So far, 72 government employees have been terminated since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. The employees whose services have been terminated are Ajaz Ahmad, a government school teacher of Baflaiz village in Surankote tehsil in Poonch district; Malik Ishfaq Naseer, a selection grade police constable at Khahgund, Anantnag; and Waseem Ahmad Khan, an assistant in the J&K health education department and a resident of Diyarwani New Colony, Batamaloo, Srinagar. Law-enforcement agencies of the Union Territory and the lieutenant governor invoked Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution, which allows dismissal without an inquiry 'in the interest of national security'. All three are currently lodged in jail. Third termination since Omar took charge as CM Over 75 government employees with terror links have been dismissed so far by the LG administration since abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. This is third termination of government employees since Omar Abdullah took over as J&K chief minister in October last year. Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have opposed such dismissals, terming them arbitrary. Officials said the action is part of the administration's continued crackdown on terror infrastructure, including overground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers embedded within government institutions. The sacked employees were 'active terror collaborators,' involved in logistics, arms smuggling, and aiding terror operations against security forces and civilians, a senior security official said. Cop backed LeT, smuggled arms Constable Malik Ishfaq Naseer, recruited in 2007, came under suspicion during an investigation into arms smuggling in 2021. His brother Malik Asif was a Pakistan-trained LeT militant and was killed in 2018, but he allegedly continued to support the outfit while serving in the police, he said. 'He used his position to identify safe drop locations for arms, explosives, and narcotics, and shared GPS coordinates with Pakistani handlers,' the official said. Malik also allegedly distributed these consignments to active terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. His LeT link was exposed in September 2021 when J&K Police was investigating a case related to smuggling of arms and explosives in Jammu region. 'He was not only identifying the safe location, sharing the coordinates with LeT handlers in Pakistan but he was also collecting and distributing arms and ammunition to terrorists in the region, enabling them to carry out terrorist attacks on security forces and civilians,' a senior security official. 'His betrayal of the oath and uniform has caused grave damage to the department, society and the nation,' the official added. Teacher helped Hizb in smuggling arms, drugs Ajaz Ahmed, who joined the education department in 2011, was found smuggling arms, ammunition, and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen propaganda. He was arrested during a routine police check in November 2023. According to the probe, the arms were meant for militants operating in Kashmir, sent by his handler Abid Ramzan Sheikh, a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen operative based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Ahmed was allegedly involved in such activities for several years and he became a trusted terror accomplice of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in the Poonch region. He was actively helping the terror outfit in smuggling arms, ammunition and narcotics, the officer said. Part of terror plot to kill journalist Waseem Ahmad Khan, a junior assistant at Government Medical College, Srinagar, appointed in 2007, was allegedly found to be part of a terror plot that led to the assassination of journalist Shujaat Bukhari and his security personnel in June 2018, the officer said. He said Khan was associated with both the LeT and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and provided logistical support for the attack on the journalist. He allegedly accompanied the terrorists and helped them escape after the shooting. He was arrested in August 2018 during investigations into a terror attack in Srinagar's Batmaloo area. Officials said the administration has tightened the vetting of government recruits, making police verification mandatory. 'This has reduced internal sabotage risks and instilled fear among potential sympathisers,' said a senior official. 'The LG's multi-pronged strategy of targeting terrorists, disruptors, and their enablers in the government has significantly weakened terror networks in the Union territory,' the official added.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Three Jammu and Kashmir govt employees sacked over alleged terror links
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday dismissed three government employees over alleged terror links, citing security concerns and invoking Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution, which allows termination without an inquiry in the interest of state security. The employees sacked include Malik Ishfaq Naseer , a selection grade constable in the J&K Police; Ajaz Ahmed, a school teacher; and Waseem Ahmad Khan, a junior assistant at Government Medical College, Srinagar. An official order issued by the General Administration Department said the LG was 'satisfied' that the activities of the employees warranted dismissal and that holding an inquiry was 'not expedient in the interest of the security of the State." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo " The Lieutenant Governor is satisfied after considering the facts and circumstances of the case and on the basis of the information available, that the activities of Malik Ishfaq Naseer, Sg. Constable in Jammu and Kashmir Police Department, S/o Malik Naseer Ahmad, R/o Malikpora, Khahgund, District Anantnag are such as to warrant his dismissal from service," the official letter of dismissal stated.
The Print
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Public Safety Act cases surge again post Pahalgam, 23 held in Valley based on ‘credible intel'
'These arrests have been made based on information and evidence available with the force. They have been lodged in different jails of the UT of J&K,' one of the sources said. All those booked are from the Kashmir Valley, with police records showing that the maximum number are residents of Srinagar. New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir Police have booked 23 alleged overground workers under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) in the past month in the aftermath of the deadly Pahalgam attack in Kashmir, sources in the security establishment told ThePrint. According to the source, the detentions are part of a larger crackdown in the Valley after the terror attack as intelligence inputs suggest sleeper cells of various terror outfits have been reactivated, and are relaying information on troop movements to handlers in Pakistan, bringing the threat of sporadic terror attacks back into focus. However, authorities have yet to make any breakthrough in identifying the perpetrators. Arrests under the PSA had decreased over the past year as a sense of normalcy returned to the Valley. However, they have surged again, with a large number of people booked under the law in just one month. The PSA allows the police to detain any person without trial for up to two years, subject to a review every six months, 'in the case of persons acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the State'. Moreover, 'any person acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order' can be held in administrative detention for up to one year. Divisional commissioners or district magistrates can issue detention orders under the PSA. Moreover, the authority detaining an individual under the Act need not disclose any details about the detention. Several people were booked under the PSA in 2019 after the abrogation of Article 370, putting pressure on local prisons. Many warrants lay unexecuted as the jails were running at full capacity. That time, the arrests under the Act targeted those who participated in stone-hurling demonstrations and others deemed to be carrying out activities detrimental to national security. Also Read: Orders for Pahalgam satellite images from US firm peaked two months before attack 'Only people with confirmed involvement being detained' A senior J&K Police officer said the key difference between earlier operations and the current approach is that only individuals with confirmed involvement are being held under the PSA, unlike in the past when mass detentions were common. 'Unless and until we have confirmed input of someone's involvement, they are not being booked under the PSA or arrested. If 10 people are booked under the PSA, 100 are being released the same day after questioning to ensure that no innocent person suffers,' the officer said. The officer added that the police are 'mindful of the need to take the public along in the fight against terror and that no innocent person should be harmed in a way that leads to alienation'. The officer also told ThePrint that they are on high alert and a close watch is being kept on overground workers, both active and dormant, who have operated in Kashmir in recent years. To counter this threat, the State Investigation Agency has been conducting raids across districts in the Valley, especially South Kashmir, and has rounded up over 200 individuals for questioning. 'These are people we suspect of providing logistical support to infiltrators and foreign terrorists already present in the Valley. It has been noticed that their movement has increased considerably in the past month,' the officer said. (Edited by Sugita Katyal) Also Read: J&K police, security forces on alert as Pakistan-linked sleeper cells rear head in Kashmir
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
BSF fortifies village guards initiative with arms training for Jammu border residents
Post Operation Sindoor, the Border Security Force has started arms training for village defence guards (VDGs) along the Jammu border with Pakistan. The civilians residing in border villages are being trained as the 'second line of defence' in the wake of infiltration by terrorists and terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior government official said on Thursday (May 29, 2025). The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also sanctioned the deployment of more than 52,000 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel for the Amarnath Yatra commencing on July 3. As many as 581 companies, each comprising 90-100 personnel, will be deployed for the security of the pilgrimage, which concludes on August 9, 2025. This will be one of highest deployments of security personnel in the area in at least the past three years. The yatra route is close to the Baisaran meadow in Kashmir Valley's Pahalgam, which witnessed a deadly terror attack on April 22, 2025 that left 26 civilians dead. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director-General G.P. Singh has been camping in J&K to review security preparedness. Home Minister Amit Shah is set to review the arrangements during his two-day visit to Jammu and Poonch on Thursday (May 29, 2025) and Friday (May 30, 2025). The VDG initiative was revived in 2022 in the Jammu belt after a gap of more than 20 years in the wake of a resurgence of terrorist activity in the region. In the past three years, more than 22 civilians have been killed in targeted terrorist attacks in the Jammu region, which includes the Chenab Valley, Kathua-Samba and areas south of the Pir Panjal comprising Rajouri and Poonch districts. The official told The Hindu that the VDGs can act as 'force multipliers' in cases of emergency and initially, training will be provided in villages that lie between the International Boundary (IB) and National Highway-44 in Jammu. Since 2022, the J&K Police have provided semi-automatic weapons to the VDGs to act in self-defence. When the scheme to arm civilians was first started in 1995 in 10 districts of Jammu, as members of the Hindu community were targeted and killed by terrorists, the civilians were provided with .303 rifles. 'The J&K Police have identified residents who are to be imparted training. They can be the first responders in case of terror attacks. Other than basic arms training, we are sharing tactical knowledge with the VDGs. In case of an encounter with terrorists, with whatever basic weapons they have, the civilians will be able to contain them and prevent their escape,' said the official. The BSF is organising 'firing practice' camps close to its border outposts so that the residents get confident in handling weapons. 'In case an infiltration takes place, the armed residents can act as eyes and ears on the ground. Refresher training will be conducted after a couple of months,' said the official, adding that this was the first time the BSF has been engaged. The CRPF and J&K Police had provided arms training to civilians in Rajouri and Poonch areas earlier. On Thursday (May 29, 2025), the BSF-Jammu posted on X, 'On 29 May, 2025, a three-day training program for VDGs began in Samba's border villages, Galar, Chak Faquira, Khanpur and Suchetpur. The program focusses on building skills to safeguard communities, boost situational awareness and counter security threats effectively.' On March 23, 2025, locals spotted unidentified terrorists in Kathua, a few kilometres from the border, following which security forces had launched an operation. Two terrorists and four policemen were killed after a fierce encounter in the Kathua forests on March 27, 2025. The 192-km International Boundary (IB) along Jammu is secured by the BSF while the 740-km Line of Control (LoC), the effective border in the Kashmir Valley and parts of Jammu, is under the operational control of the Army. In the 1990s, around 30,000 weapons were distributed in various phases to civilians in Poonch, Rajouri, Samba, Doda and Kishtwar districts by the local administration when militancy was at its peak in J&K. The scheme was discontinued amid allegations of crimes, such as abduction and rape, committed by the members. A parliamentary committee was recently informed by the External Affairs Ministry that at least 24 terrorist-initiated incidents were reported in 2024 and more than 30 civilians were killed.
