The J&K Government on Tuesday terminated two more employees, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)-rank officer and a principal, in the Valley “in the interest of the security of the State”.
Feroz Ahmad Lone, who worked in the Prisons Department, and Javid Ahmad Shah, principal of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Bijbehara, were terminated under Article 311 “in the interest of the security of the State”, which does not require any trial or investigation by the Department concerned, except for a report filed by the security agencies.
Official sources said the security agencies suggest that DSP Lone, who was appointed in 2012, “hatched a criminal conspiracy with terror commanders to send youths illegally into Pakistan or Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir for weapons training and indulge in acts of terrorism. DSP Lone was working for slain Hizbul Mujahideen ‘commander’ Riyaz Naikoo, in the past, the agencies suggested.
Officials said DSP Lone was found helping two youths from Pulwama to meet an arrested associate and militant Ishaq Palla in the Central Jail, Srinagar. “DSP Lone after consulting Palla misused his official position and assisted in issuance of pass to them. It was in this meeting that a criminal conspiracy was hatched to send Danish and Sohail to PoK for arms training and to join terrorist ranks to wage war against Union of India. Both were arrested before crossing over to Pakistan,” officials said.
Officials said Mr. Shah “has been a hardcore terrorist supporter and ardent sympathiser of Hurriyat and the socio-religious group Jamat-e-Islami (JeI)”.
The security agencies claimed that Mr. Shah played a role of an adviser to Hurriyat cadre and the JeI working in Bijbehara in 2016, when the killing of militant ‘commander’ Burhan Wani fuelled a cycle of street protests.
“As principal, he ensured that the Hurriyat hartal calendars were followed in letter and spirit not only in the government school which he was heading but its subsidiary institutions too. Javid, by misusing his official position rather openly, disallowed girl students of his institution to study and participate in physical education and curriculum, citing it against the fundamentals of Islam,” officials said.
The principal is accused of “motivating the girl students to study Islamic studies in a distorted way with the sole objective to radicalise the girl students and fulfil his pro-JeI designs”.
The J&K Government in April constituted a Special Task Force (STF) for identifying and scrutinising the employees who are involved in any cases related to posing threat to security or anti-national activities.
Over 20 employees, including senior officials, have been terminated since the formation of the STF, tasked to scrutinise cases of employees suspected of activities requiring action under Article 311(2)(C) of the Constitution.
Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin’s two sons and former Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s grandson were among them.
