Militant killed last week figures in J&K police SI post

Four days after a B Tech graduate-turned-militant was killed in an encounter with security forces, his name has figured in the shortlist for the Sub-Inspector's post, the results of which were declared by Jammu and Kashmir Police on Tuesday.

Khursheed Ahmad Malik, a resident of volatile Pulwama district in south Kashmir, was killed along with his associate from Al-Badr outfit on August 3 in an encounter with the Army in Sopore area of north Kashmir. A soldier had also died in the gun battle.

His name appeared under serial number 1913 and roll number 217291101238 in general category of the list. When the news of his selection came, his family was observing his ‘Rasam-e-Chahrum’ (fourth-day ceremony).

26-year-old Malik, a B Tech pass out from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in Katra, had appeared along with hundreds of other aspirants for the Sub-Inspector's post on June 24, 10 days before he was killed.

According to his family, he was also preparing for the Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS) exam and had earlier qualified GATE as well.

Militant for just 48 hours, Malik had joined Al Badr on July 31 after he went missing from his home at Pulwama. His family said Malik was a brilliant student and had secured 416 out of 500 in the matriculation exams and 602 out of 750 in 12th standard.

Since the killing of Burhan Wani, a tech-savvy commander of Hizbul Mujahideen in July 2016, more and more local youth, particularly the educated ones and those from well-off families in Kashmir, are joining militancy. This has spurred a new security concern in the Valley.

Security agencies see the entry of educated youth in militant ranks as a new threat. Even family members of police officials or active policemen are joining militancy.

Recently, a Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery student, who happens to be the younger brother of an IPS officer of the Northeast cadre joined Hizbul outfit.

Earlier in January, Manan Wani, a scholar at Aligarh Muslim University, had also joined militant ranks.