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Updated: Mar 23, 2019 00:16 IST

Days after the death of south Kashmir teacher Rizwan Pandit in police custody, his purported friend has joined militancy and announced it on social media in a video.

A voice in the less-than-4 minute video behind a picture with name Shahid Manzoor claims that he was friends with Pandit and joined militancy as it was “better to die than live a life where ones honour was not safe”. While HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video, a senior police officer said that they are looking into its contents.

“...we will have to become like Shaheed Adil (suicide bomber who blew himself in a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in February),” the voice claiming to be Shahid Manzoor, a resident of Awantipora, said.

“...When I learnt that Rizwan was martyred, I joined militants...” he said in the video along with text Hizbul Mujahideen and date of joining March 19.

Rizwan Pandit, a 29-year-old school teacher from south Kashmir, who was arrested in connection with a terror case on Sunday, died in police custody on Tuesday, triggering outrage and protests in the Valley. His family has since accused police of torturing him to death in custody.