A policeman who had gone missing from his home at Shopian district of south Kashmir has reportedly joined Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit as his picture in which he poses with an AK rifle goes viral on social media.
Official sources told news agency GNS that the cop namely Constable Ishfaq Ahmad, a resident of Heff Shirmal village in southern Shopian, had returned home on leave. He was posted at DPL Kathua. However, more than four days passed but he didn’t report back to duty at DPL Kathua, the sources said.
Normally, it takes less than a day from Shopian to Kathua by road, they said. “The police have registered a case after a missing report was submitted by his family”. A police officer said they took cognizance of the matter and began investigations to trace out the missing cop. “We are looking into all the angles, whether he has joined militants or other possibilities”, he said.
However, the picture of the cop posing with AK47 rifle went viral on the social media today in the afternoon. Along with his name, it was scripted on the photograph that the cop has joined LeT. The LeT has not issued any formal statement in this regard. However in recent years, several cops deserted police ranks and joined the militancy in Kashmir.
Sources said that the cop was earlier posted at Ladakh and from there he was sent to Kathua. One of the two brothers of the cop is also working in police department while another one is a student.