J&K : Shopian Religious Institute On Radar Of Investigating Agencies, Claims Of Many Terrorists Studied Here
Srinagar : A school in Shopian has come under the radar of investigative agencies after 13 students of a religious school in Shopian district in South Kashmir were found to be involved in terrorist groups. Officials gave this information. Sajjad Bhat had studied from the same institute, who was an accused in a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in February 2019.
According to official reports, the students studying in this school mainly come from Kulgam, Pulwama and Anantnag districts of South Kashmir. Intelligence agencies consider these areas sensitive to terrorism and the center of recruitment of local people in many terrorist groups. Officials said that children from Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana have also been studying in this school, but their number has almost gone down since the end of Article 370 last year.
According to an official, most of the students and teachers of the school come from the terror-hit Shopian and Pulwama districts, so the ideology of terrorism may be flourishing and it is expected to affect the children coming from elsewhere. He said that it also seems that the external environment, local population, activities related to terrorism and the killing of terrorists in regular encounters also reinforce the ideology of terrorism.
On February 14 last year, 40 soldiers were killed in a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama. During the investigation of the case, intelligence agencies came to know that Bhat, the owner of the vehicle used in the attack, had also studied school from the same religious educational institution in Shopian district.
In the list of students involved in its terrorism, the latest name Zubair Nengaru was associated. Nengru, alleged commander of the banned al-Badr terrorist organization, was killed in August this year and was also a student of this place. According to an internal report, there are at least 13 listed terrorists and hundreds of over-ground workers (OGWs) who are either students of this institution or have studied in it before.
Recently, a young man from Baramulla was missing, who was coming home from school after the end of the holidays. It is later revealed that he has become part of the terrorist group.
The report says that most of these 13 terrorists are residents of Shopian and Pulwama. Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists Nazim Nazir Dar and Aijaz Ahmad Paul are also named in this list. Paul died in an encounter on August 4 in Shopian.
Officials believe that such institutions are the recruiting centers of terrorist organizations like Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Al-Badr and Lashkar-e-Taiba where the slain terrorists are described as heroes.
“These factors leave a deep impression in the mind of the students and they come to terrorism, influenced by society and friends,” said an official. In many cases, it is learned that the education of such religious institutions is inciting students to join terrorist groups.
The report said that many students have been involved in stone pelting, agitation and disturbing law and order situation on the security forces. It said that these students spread the message of hatred and separatism ideology against the government while glorifying the acts of terrorists.
