Cop runs away with AK-47, joins Hizbul

A cop of Jammu and Kashmir Police, who had gone missing along with an AK-47 rifle in Pampore area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Tuesday evening, has joined Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant outfit.

Quoting the operational spokesman of Hizb Burhan-u-Din, local news gathering agency KNS said: “SPO Irfan Ahmad Dar, a resident of Nehama Kakapora of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, who fled with the rifle has joined Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.”

Sources said special police officer (SPO) Dar left the police station Pampore where he was posted along with his service rifle after he suffered some illness. The missing SPO, they said, is a resident of militancy infested Kakapora area in Pulwama.

Earlier, Superintendent Police, Awantipora, Muhammad Zahid Malik had confirmed that the SPO was missing since Tuesday evening.

SPOs are recruited by the police on a fixed monthly remuneration of Rs 6,000. The wages of SPOs are given by the state government and reimbursed by the Centre under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme. The police maintain SPOs are an important element in their strategy to combat militancy.

In the last three years, several policemen have joined militants after running away alongwith their service rifles. In May last year a policeman decamped with four assault rifles from a post in central Kashmir's Budgam district and later joined Hizbul Mujahideen outfit.

Meanwhile, the police on Wednesday said it arrested four alleged over-ground workers of Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militant outfit.

“Acting on specific information, Sopore Police with the assistance of 22 RR 177/BN CRPF and 179/BN CRPF laid a joint naka (check post) at Fruitmandi crossing Sopore on Tuesday evening and arrested four OGWs of the JeM outfit,” a police spokesman said.

“Two UBGLs, two hand grenades and matrix sheets of the JeM outfit were recovered from their possession,” he said, adding that an FIR number 174/18 under sections 7/25 arms act and 13 ULA was registered.