Newly appointed Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) chairman Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai’s son, who went missing 24 hours ago, was seen wielding a gun in pictures that surfaced on social media in the Valley on Saturday, hinting that he could have joined militancy.
The family of Mr. Sehrai, a resident of Srinagar’s uptown Baghat Barzula area, approached the police on Saturday. “We have received a complaint about the missing Junaid Khan, who is the son of Mr. Sehrai,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Srinagar, Imtiyaz Ismail Parray.
Police sources said the family claimed Khan had gone missing after he left for Friday prayers.
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Gets an alias
Hours after the complaint, a picture emerged on social media platforms showing Khan holding an AK-47 rifle. The writing on the picture speaks of Khan, 30, an MBA graduate from Kashmir University as “joining the Hizbul Mujahideen on March 24, 2018”. He has been given an alias, Amaar Bhai.
The picture went viral on social media platforms, with many commenting that Khan had posed “with all calmness”.
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The police have not officially confirmed about Khan joining militancy. “Of late, it’s a trend that any youth who take up arms releases his picture online. However, the matter is under investigation,” said a police officer.
Mr. Serhai, 74, took over from the TeH chairman, Syed Ali Geelani, 87, on March 19. In his first interview on Friday, Mr. Sehrai criticised the IS, Daesh and al-Qaeda, and warned the youth against joining these organisations as they “wrongly interpreting Islam”.