Cop who decamped with four rifles 'joins' Hizbul

 A policeman who had decamped with four assault rifles from post in central Kashmir's Budgam district on Saturday, has joined Hizbul Mujahideen outfit.

Local news agency KNS quoting Hizbul spokesman, Burhan-u-Din's tele-statement said the policeman identified as Syed Naveed has joined the outfit along with the four rifles. “Our field operational commander, Mehmood Ghaznavi, has welcomed Syed Naveed for joining the militant organization to fight Indian occupational forces in Kashmir,” he said.

Police on Saturday said that Syed Naveed Mushtaq of Nazneenpora, Shopian, in south Kashmir decamped with four SLR rifles from the guard duty room where he was posted to guard an FCI godown in Nasrullahpora, Budgam.

In the last two years two such incidents have been reported in the Valley where two policemen decamped with the service rifles of fellow cops and later joined militants. In 2015, a cop-turned militant Naseer Ahmad Pandit of the 11 battalion of J&K Armed Police, who was posted at the guard room of PDP minister Altaf Bukhari’s residence, decamped with two AK-47 rifles.
Pandit was later killed in an encounter with security forces in 2016.