Slain militant’s mother booked under UAPA in Kashmir

In 2018, a picture of her posing with an illegal weapon had gone viral.

Jammu and Kashmir police have booked the mother of a slain militant under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly motivating youth in southern Kulgam to join militant ranks.

Reports said Naseema Bano, mother of Tawseef Sheikh, a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander who was slain in a gunfight with security forces in May 2018, was arrested on June 19 from her home in Rampora village of Qaimoh in Kulgam, and booked under UAPA the next day (under FIR number 30 of 2020).

She is presently lodged in a women’s police station in neighbouring Anantnag district while her other son, Farooq Sheikh, is also serving detention for about a year.

A local English daily quoting a family source said that security forces raided Sheikh's house a week ago and took away Bano. “They (forces) had apparently come looking for Bano’s daughter, who was not home and took the mother instead of the daughter,” it reported.

Superintendent of Police Kulgam, Gurinder Pal said that Bano had been booked for, “active involvement in activating the youth of the area into militant ranks.”

“In 2018, a picture of her posing with an illegal weapon had gone viral. That was a crime in itself and a case had been lodged in the matter. During the investigation, her links with activating more youth into militant ranks, arranging weapons and logistics for Hizbul militants were established,” he said.

The SP claimed that Bano was directly involved in the case of three local boys joining militancy recently in the area. “Not only Bano but her daughter as well has been found to be involved in such activities. In the interest of the community, she has been booked,” he added.

The extended Sheikh family of Rampur has lost 15 members since militancy erupted in the Valley in the 90s. Mohammad Ibrahim Sheikh was the first militant from the family who was killed in a gunfight with the security forces in 1997.

Just a few months later, Shabir Sheikh, Ibrahim’s cousin, inspired by him, picked up arms. His stint as a militant was short-lived as he was killed months later, the same year.

Ibrahim’s brother Ashraf, who was earlier jailed for militant links and had married his brother’s widow, and followed in the footsteps of his brother in 2009. However, he was also killed in a gunfight just a kilometer away from his home, 40 days later. The list of killed militants in the clan is long.

In 2014, Ibrahim’s other brother Abbas also joined the militancy. Abbas, a tailor by profession, was earlier too associated with militancy and had been jailed several times. He is among the most-wanted militants who are on top of the army's target list. Today, 45-year old Abbas who has four children is the only surviving militant from the Sheikh family.