The Jammu and Kashmir Police has ordered an investigation after a constable from Shopian district claimed on social media last week that he had joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Hindustan Times reported.
A photograph of Ishfaq Ahmad Dar holding an AK-47 rifle has been widely circulated on social media in the Kashmir Valley over the past few days. Dar, who is from the village of Heff in Shopian’s Zainapora-Wachi belt, returned home earlier this week after completing his police training, sources told Greater Kashmir. He went missing soon after, after which his family filed a report with the police.
“There are reports we are trying to confirm. The matter is being investigated,” state police chief SP Vaid told the Hindustan Times.
This may be the third case this year of security personnel joining militancy. In May, constable Syed Naveed Mushtaq is said to have fled with four INSAS rifles, including his own, and joined the Hizbul Mujahideen, while a couple of months later an Army man identified as Zahoor Ahmad Thokar defected and joined the militancy.
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