j-k-lookout-notice-for-missing-hm-militant-out-on-bail

A Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorist, who was out on bail, went missing from his residence in Kulgam district.

 

Following his disappearance, police have put up posters across Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the Jammu Bus Stand area, where he carried out an attack in March 2019.

 

This attack killed two people and injured 32 others. The authorities are seeking information about his whereabouts.

 

Yasir Javed Bhat, a resident of Khanpora, Dassein village in Kulgam district, was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir Police in Nagrota shortly after the 2019 attack.

 

However, due to his juvenile status, he was later released from custody. In light of his recent disappearance, security forces have issued a high alert and intensified efforts to locate him.

 

The March 2019 attack took place when a grenade was thrown at the Jammu Bus Stand, causing significant casualties.

 

Bhat, then a juvenile, was identified and arrested hours after the incident, marking a significant moment in the counter-terrorism efforts of Jammu and Kashmir Police.

 

His recent disappearance has raised concerns about a potential resurgence of militant activities in the area.

 

As the recent surge in terror activities in J&K has put security agencies on high alert, incidents like these, where a militant has gone missing, cannot be taken lightly.

 

Security experts point out that the lack of local recruits in recent years and the significant decrease in reported terror incidents in the Kashmir Valley have prompted terror handlers to attempt to reactivate sleeper cells and their network of both overground and underground workers.

 

This effort aims to disturb the peace in the valley, reflecting the ongoing challenges in maintaining security and stability in the region.

 

This is not an isolated case. Several such disappearances have also taken place in the past when ex-terrorists or jailed terrorists have fled and later joined the ranks of terror groups like Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba (now The Resistance Front or TRF), and Jaish-e-Muhammad (operating under a new name called The People's Anti-Fascist Front or PAFF), as per security and defence analysts.

 

For instance, in 2018, Naveed Jatt, a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant who escaped from custody during a hospital visit in Srinagar, later resurfaced to carry out several high-profile attacks before being killed in an encounter later that year.

 

Similarly, in 2021, two militants who escaped from a police vehicle during transit were later found to have re-joined their terror outfits, participating in various attacks across the region.