Jawan Zaffar-ullah’s desertion has become a cause for concern for the Indian Army. The sepoy fled with three rifles and ammunition in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district.
Jawan Zaffar-ullah’s desertion has become a cause for concern for the Indian Army. The sepoy, who fled with three rifles and ammunition in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, has joined the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
Zaffar was posted with 8-Rashtriya Rifles. He is believed to have joined the LeT at the instance of his brother Hanief, an LeT commander. Hanief returned to Jammu and Kashmir five months ago after receiving arms training in Pakistan. He is now overseeing the militant operations in Doda region.
The army is trying to put up a brave face. “A search operation is on to nab the jawan. It would be premature to say that he joined a militant group,” Lt Colonel Biplab Nath, defence spokesperson in Jammu, said.
Zaffar had joined the army in 2006 and was posted with 169 Territorial Army before being deputed to 8-RR, which oversees anti-insurgency operations in Doda. Sources said soon after Hanief returned from Pakistan, he instigated his brother to desert the army and join the LeT.
Investigators are surprised that the army had no clue that Zaffar had developed links with militants and would desert his post. “A distinction should be made between regular and irregular troops. Zaffar was from the Territorial Army, which is not the regular battalion of the army,” Prabhat Singh, SSP of Doda district, said. They are probing whether Zaffar had links with militants before he joined the army. Recruitment in the army or police requires a non-involvement certificate from the CID stating that the person had no connection with anti-national elements.
This is not the first incident of desertion in the security forces. In 2006, security forces killed Kuldeep Kumar Sharma alias Kamran, who became the deputy district commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen for Doda. In 2005, the army killed Anar Singh a cop-turned-militant in Kashtiwar. In the same year, two Hindu militants surrendered before the army in Jammu.
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