BSF man held for Hizb links in J&K

Majid Jahangir
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, October 4

Days after a special police officer fled with eight weapons, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested a Border Security Force  man for his alleged links with Hizbul Mujahideen.

Shakir Ahmad Wani, who had joined the BSF in 1994, was arrested along with his associate Ghulam Mustafa Sheikh, both residents of Tekipora (Lolab) in the frontier Kupwara district.

The police said Wani, posted in the North-East, had come home on leave for his marriage. “We had an input that there were some militant activities in Kupwara. We arrested the duo and it led to recovery of a weapon. They were running a module to recruit youth for terror activities,” a police officer said. “We are investigating the case and looking at all angles, including how and when he got in touch with the militant group.”

IG, Frontier, BSF, Abhinav Kumar said the arrested man was “posted in Aizawl (Mizoram). The police are probing and our people are also there as part of the investigation.”

This is for the first time that a BSF jawan has been arrested for links with militants.

Lured youth to terror

• BSF man Shakir Ahmad Wani of Kupwara, posted in  North-East, had come home on leave for his marriage
• He and associate Ghulam Sheikh allegedly have links with Hizbul Mujahideen
• Were engaged in providing logistics support to terrorists, apart from luring youths onto the path of terrorism