Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 6: Police have come across a major Hizbul Mujahideen module engaged in recruitment of youth into the militancy and having roots in South Kashmir, mainly Awantipora area of Pulwama district, with the arrest of two militants while a “key man” of Sabjian, Poonch, who was reportedly luring youth for their exfiltration to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) for arms training, has gone underground.
The militants were using Mughal Road for reaching Poonch from Kashmir on the pretext of visiting a religious place in Rajouri carrying identity cards with them so that they were not doubted. So far, nearly a dozen youth of Awantipora and surroundings had been lured into the militancy, four of whom have been arrested by Poonch Police with the help of their South Kashmir counterparts while others were reported to have been detained in South Kashmir.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the new modus operandi of the militants to recruit fresh youths into the militancy and send them to PoK for arms training via Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch sector first surface when one militant was killed and two fresh recruits were arrested in Chaprian area of Sabjian on the LoC in Poonch sector some time back. The militant was killed after he fell down from the hill and police captured the two recruits.
“It was during interrogation of these two youth that entire racket involved in luring youths of Kashmir into militancy and then trying to send them to PoK for arms training had surfaced. The two fresh recruits knew at least dozen youths of South Kashmir, some of whom hailed from Awantipora, had also fallen into the trap of militancy after being lured by some commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit.
While two militants including a TATA Sumo driver, who had transported three militants to Poonch and another, who was instrumental in motivating youths into militancy, were arrested by Surankote police of Poonch district with the help of South Kashmir police, some others were arrested/detained by police in South Kashmir while few others were reportedly on the run.
Reports said the module surfaced during questioning of two fresh recruits by police from Sabjian when one of the militant Billal Ahmad Bhat son of Sonaullah Bhat of Baramulla was killed after he fell down from a hill and two youths were arrested at Sabjian. Billal was a listed militant while two youths accompanying him were fresh recruits. They were identified as Adil Ahmad Bhat son of Ghulam Hassan Bhat and Mursalem Rashid son of Abdul Rashid, both residents of Pulwama in South Kashmir
Sources said questioning of Bhat and Rashid by the police revealed that they had been fresh recruits of Hizbul Mujahideen and had to meet Azam Ahmad Lone of Chaprian, Sabjian, who had to arrange their stay followed by exfiltration to PoK for arms training.
Sources, however, confirmed that Lone was absconding since the arrest of two fresh recruits of Hizbul Mujahideen and death of Billal Ahmad Bhat, who had fallen from a hill.
During questioning, names of two more fresh recruits surfaced. Surankote police in Poonch district have arrested both the accused with the help of their counterparts in South Kashmir. They have been identified as Sameer Ahmad and Javed Ahmad, residents of Beighpora, Srinagar.
Both of them were brought to Surankote police station in Poonch district, where a FIR has been registered against them as it was established that they too were facilitating fresh recruitment of local youths into the militancy and were part of Hizbul Mujahideen module.
According to sources, the Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of the Hizbul Mujahideen module used to transport militants from Shopian to Rajouri via Mughal Road in Tata Sumo vehicles, which were arranged by Javed Ahmad of Beighpora.
They used to reach Rajouri telling security forces and police enroute that they had to visit a religious place. From the religious place, Azam Ahmad Lone took the fresh recruits into civil buses and shift them to Sabjian.
Police was now trying to investigate whether fresh recruits were sent to PoK for arms training by Azam or were given arms there to transport them to the Kashmir Valley.
When approached for comments, SSP Poonch Jatinder Singh Johar said police investigations into the module were on and things would be clear in the next few days.
“Definitely, it was a Hizbul Mujahideen module,” he said.