The report of Army commando Idris Mir — a very disciplined ace Ghatak commando of 12 Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry — joining the ranks of Hizbul Mujahideen has taken the Army by surprise. In view of his excellent track record, the security establishment does not rule out the possibility that the terrorists coerced the highly-trained soldier to join their ranks by threatening his family members.

The Army is finding it difficult to believe that Mir got influenced by the so-called ideology of the Hizbul Mujahideen and decided to jump the fence. Incidentally, this is the second such instance of a soldier from Shopian in South Kashmir crossing over to terrorists. The first incident took place in July last year when a Territorial Army soldier deserted.

Mir joined the Army three years back and was currently posted at Danapur, Bihar. While some reports indicated this week that since he was unwilling to get posted to Jharkhand and therefore, joined the Hizbul Mujahideen, officials said here on Wednesday that the leads suggested the soldier was coerced into doing so.

Narrating the sequence of events, they said the soldier first went on leave in March and reported a day late claiming he had some family commitments. Mir then again sought leave in the first week of April and never reported back for duty. The Jammu & Kashmir Police said he joined the terror outfit and his photograph carrying a gun emerged in social media earlier this week.

Officials fear that he was forced to cross over as some reports suggested that his family, including father, two brothers and two sisters, may have been threatened with dire consequences by the terrorists. Realising the sensitive nature of the case, police and security forces are moving with extreme caution to rule out any danger to the soldier’s family, they said. Two other youths from Mir’s village also joined the terror group along with him, police said.

Kashmir has seen a spike in local youth opting for terror groups after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July, 2016. While South Kashmir was paralysed for more than four months due to mass protests after Wani’s death, scores of gullible youths took up the gun. In fact, last year alone nearly 126 young men, including highly educated ones, joined terrorist groups and “it is definitely alarming,” officials admitted.

More than 280 youths from Kashmir have joined terror outfits in the last three years, they added.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, Thursday, 19 April 2018 | Rahul Datta | New Delhi