Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Feb 24: Police and Army have arrested a teenage Fidayeen of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit from Baramulla who carried out an attack three months ago along with his three associates at an Army camp near the Line of Control (LoC) in Tanghdar area of North Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
Mohammad Sadiq Gujjar, 17, son of Walid Mohammad Gujjar resident of Sialkote tehsil Dehska in Pakistan was arrested by Police and Army’s 52 and 46 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) from Baramulla. His three associates Hussain, Malik and Rizwan were killed inside Army camp at Tanghdar on November 25.
Arrest of Gujjar is a major success for police in North Kashmir as he is the only Fidayeen of Afzal Guru squad of JeM who was arrested after carrying out the attack on 3/1 GR battalion headquarters at Tanghdar. The Guru squad of JeM carried out three Fidayeen attacks so far including last month’s Pathankot attack on Indian Air Force base.
Gujjar was part of four Fidayeen who carried out attack on the Army camp in Tanghdar on November 25 last year. He has told his interrogators that he set afire the Oil depot inside the Army camp at Tanghdar and destroyed several vehicles before he was asked by his colleagues to leave.
The Fidayeen told his interrogators that the group of four JeM militants were launched from Athmuqam in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and was tasked to carry out Fidayeen attack on any camp near the LoC. “The group with the help of GPS devices started on foot on November 24 at around 10 pm. from near the LoC on PoK side and continued their journey till they reached the Tanghdar Army camp in around 6-7 hours”, he told interrogators.
“After they carried out the attack, Gujjar was the only teenager in the group who was asked by his colleagues to leave. He fled to nearby forests and was there hiding for three days. He was asked by his handlers that he should go to Kupwara and they will help him. After three days, he changed his clothes and boarded a Sumo along with his weapon from Tanghdar. He reached Kupwara where he befriended some people who helped him to travel to Baramulla”, Gujjar told his interrogators.
In Baramulla town, the Fidayeen spent around 15 days. However, he was arrested by police after his suspicious movements. Later, police arrested a person who gave him shelter and where he had dumped his weapon. Police also detained 7 people who have provided him shelter and assistance and also recovered his weapon. However, others were let off and only two were arrested.
Coming from a well off farmer family in Sialkote, Gujjar has five brothers and two sisters. He is the middle one. He was lured by his school friend who is also a JeM militant into militancy. He received three month’s training in JeM camp where he was motivated for Jihad besides arms training.
Army eliminated his three associates, in a gun battle inside the Army camp in Tanghdar in which a generator operator of Military Engineering Service (MES), Tanveer Ahmad Sheikh, was also killed and an Army man injured on November 25 last year.
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