A Hindu militant from Uttar Pradesh is the new face of Lashkar-e-Toiba's (LeT's) jihad in the restive Kashmir Valley.

Sandeep Kumar Sharma of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, a welder-turned-criminal-turned-jihadi, has been arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police after it busted a major LeT module involved in attacks on the security forces and looting of banks and ATMs in South Kashmir.

A close aide of slain LeT commander Bashir Ahmad Wani alias Bashir Lashkari, Sharma alias Adil was part of the group that ambushed and killed Feroz Ahmad Dar, the Station House Officer of Achabal police station, and five other cops on June 16. Lashkari and his Pakistani associate Abu Maaz were killed in an encounter at Brinty Dailgam village on July 1.

In fact, Sharma's cover was blown on the same day as he masqueraded as a civilian who was held hostage by Lashkari in a house on July 1. He was among the 17 'civilians' rescued by the police before a final assault was launched against the militants.

"When the operation started in Brinty, 17 civilians were taken hostage by terrorists. The standoff continued for four hours and our aim was to rescue all the civilians before we could start the actual operation. It is at that time that we were informed that there was a non-local inside the house, and we called him for questioning. A finger of suspicion was raised at him. After the operation, we started questioning him further and he spilled the beans," said Munir Ahmad Khan, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone.

Investigations revealed that Sharma had first come to the Valley in 2012. He used to stay in the Valley in phases, mostly in the summers, and worked as a welder. "Since 2012, he has spent most of his time in the Valley and during the winters he used to go to Patiala for employment. While working in Punjab, he came in contact with Shahid Ahmad of Puhulu Kulgam, who was also working there," said Khan.

It was in January 2017 that he joined the militant ranks formally in Kashmir. "Sharma, with the help of Muneeb, met hardcore terrorist Shakoor Ahmad Dar of LeT at Supat. The meeting with Shakoor was arranged by Muneeb and his associates, and that was the beginning of Sharma's criminal activities," Khan added.

Analysis

The fact that a Hindu is enlisted in the ranks of jihadi terrorists is a cause for major concern for the security authorities, since profiling Islamic terrorists now becomes trickier than before.The police will now have to probe exactly what reasons led to Sharma joining militant ranks, and then ensure that these reasons don’t lead to more such cases.