SDPO’s guard decamps with 4 AK-47 rifles, joins LeT

Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Jan 16: A constable, who was security guard of a police officer, injured in a militant attack last month, has fled away with four AK-47 rifles from Sub-Division Police Office Bijbehara in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district and joined militancy.
Constable Shakoor Ahmed Parrey son of Muhammad Sidiq (belt number 689) has run away with four AK-47 rifles of fellow constables from the SDPO office in Bijbehara, where he was posted.
Shakoor, a resident of Kundalan, Shopian was posted as a Personal Security Officer (PSO) to SDPO Bijbehara, Irshad Ahmad Bhat, in Bijbehara area of Anantnag district.
Bhat and a police constable, Tanveer Ahmad, were injured in a militant attack on December 24 last month when they were escorting Milad procession at village Gouriwan in Bijbehara area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Reports said that cop didn’t report to duty since January 13 and when the room in SDPO office where he was living with his colleagues was checked, four AK-47 rifles were found missing.
Police registered a case and have launched investigations into the missing of constable and four AK-47 rifles. Police have sounded an alert and have launched a massive hunt to trace out the missing constable.
Police has not ruled out the role of Shakoor in the attack on SDPO Bhat in which he was critically injured.
Shakoor, a resident of village Kundalan of Shopian district of South Kashmir is said to have joined Lashkar-e-Toiba militant outfit.
The cop fled along with the rifles on January 13 with two more youth – Gazi Fayaz Dar, 20, son of Manzoor Ahmad and Aqib Bashir son of Bashir Ahmad Dar, both the residents of Kundalan, Shopian.
Reports said that all the three have joined LeT. Shakoor had links with the militancy in the past and was appointed as SPO and later promoted as constable.
This is for the second time in last 10 months that a constable has run away with the rifles and joined militancy. In March this year, Naseer Ahmad Pandith, who was on guard duty at the residence of the then Roads and Buildings Minister, Syed Altaf Bukhari, in Srinagar, decamped with two AK-47 rifles and two magazines.
Pandith, a resident of village Kareemabad in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district joined Hizbul Mujahideen and is one of the most wanted militants now.

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