Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday sacked eleven government employees, including Hizbul-Mujahideen Chief Syed Salahuddin’s two sons besides two policemen in its ongoing crackdown against the people allegedly engaged in ‘terror activities’.
The Special Task Force (STF) constituted for identifying and scrutinizing cases of government employees under Article 311(2) (c) of the Constitution of India, in its second and fourth 4th meeting, recommended 3 and 8 cases respectively, for their dismissal from the Government service, officials said.
The 11 employees terminated from services are from police, education, power, health, agriculture and skill departments and the SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), and hail from Srinagar, Budgam, Kupwara, Baramulla, Anantnag and Pulwama districts of the Valley.
Among those fired from government services are Syed Ahmad Shakeel and Shahid Yousuf, sons of Hizb chief Syed Salahuddin. One of them was working with SKIMS and the other, was in the education department, they said.
Salahuddin has been designated as a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ by the United States.
“The National Investigation Agency has tracked terror funding trails of both the persons. They were involved in raising, receiving, collecting and transferring funds through Hawala (non-banking) transactions for terror activities of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen”, the officials said.
The three officials recommended for dismissal in the second meeting of the committee, included an orderly of the ITI in Kupwara, who was an over ground worker (OGW) of Lashkar-e-Taiba, they said.
He was providing information to militants about the movement of security forces, and abetting and harbouring militants to carry out activities in a clandestine manner, the officials said.
Besides him, there were two teachers from Anantnag in South Kashmir who were found involved in anti-national activities, including participating, supporting and propagating secessionist ideology of the Jamat-Islami (JeI) and Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM), they said.
The eight government employees recommended for dismissal in the fourth meeting of the committee included two constables of the Jammu Kashmir Police who supported militancy from within the police department and provided inside information to militants as also logistic support, the officials said.
Constable Abdul Rashid Shigan has himself executed attacks on state forces, they said.
Another government employee with militancy links is Naaz Muhammad Allaie, an orderly of the health department. He is an OGW of the Hizbul Mujahideen and has a history of direct involvement in militant activities, the officials said.
Two dreaded militants were harboured by him at his residence, they said.
Employees Jabbar Ahmad Paray and Nisar Ahmad Tantray of the education department, who terminated from service, were actively involved in furthering the secessionist agenda unleashed by militant-sponsors from Pakistan and are Jamat-e-Islami ideologists, the officials said.
Shaheen Ahmad Lone, an inspector of the power department has been found involved in smuggling and transporting of arms for the Hizbul Mujahideen, they said.
He was found travelling along with two militants on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway and carrying arms, ammunition and explosives in January last year, the officials said.
Earlier in April-May, the administration dismissed seven employees including DSP Davinder Singh. Along with him Bashir Ahmad Sheikh and Mohammad Yousuf Ganie, both from Kupwara in North Kashmir, were dismissed from the education department.
Dr Abdul Bari Naik, assistant professor, geography, Government Degree College, Women, Udhampur; Nazir Ahmed Wani, Naib Tehsildar (Revenue Officer), Pulwama.
Pertinently, Idrees Jan, a teacher from north Kashmir’s Kupwara district was the first government employee to be sacked from his service for his anti-national activities on May 1. His dismissal came barely over a week after the Union Territory administration constituted a Special Task Force (STF) to identifying the employees involved in anti-national activities and who pose a threat to the country’s security.
In an order issued on April 21, the GAD had accorded to the constitution of STF for identifying and scrutinizing cases of government employees, to initiate the process under Government Order No. 738-JK(GAD) of 2020 dated 30.07.2020, for action in terms of provisions of Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution of India.
The order had further stated that Additional Director General of Police (CID) has been nominated as Chairman of the committee and Inspector General of Police, Jammu/Kashmir, Representative of Home Department not Member below the rank of Additional Secretary, Representative of Department of Law, Justice Member & Parliamentary Affairs not below the rank of Additional Secretary and Representative of the Concerned Department, as necessary, not below the rank of Additional Secretary shall be the members.
“The terms of reference of the Special Task Force shall be to scrutinize cases of employees suspected of activities requiring action under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution of India,” the order had said.
The order had also empowered the STF to compile records of such employees, wherever necessary and to refer it to the Committee constituted vide Government Order No. 738-JK(GAD) of 2020 dated 30.07.2020. It also orders STF to engage with other members of the Terror Monitoring Group (TMG) for identifying such other employees, as necessary besides taking the assistance of other Agencies and Department(s) in this regard, as necessary.
“The Special Task Force shall speedily scrutinize such cases in a time-bound manner and shall be serviced by the Criminal Investigation Department,” the order added. (With PTI inputs)
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