Inspector General Vijay Kumar of the Jammu and Kashmir police has confirmed that Hilal Ahmad Dar, the missing Ph.D. scholar from Srinagar, has joined militant ranks in the terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen. As per reports, he went for a trek to high altitude Naranag in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir on 14th June with his four friends. All of them returned on the same evening but Hilal.
https://twitter.com/ddnewsSrinagar/status/1275338721601052674?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwOn 22nd June, his family staged a protest in Srinagar and urged the police to take immediate steps to locate him. IG Kumar was talking to press after the wreath-laying ceremony of a fallen CRPF jawan who lost his life in a gunfight in Pulwama. Two terrorists were neutralized during the operation. One of the reporters asked IG for an update on Hilal to which he replied, “He joined Hizbul Mujahideen.”
Dar’s recruitment unusual amid dip in people taking up arms
As per reports, in the last few months, police officials have noted a dip in the recruitment of terrorists. While 85 people joined such groups from January to May 2019, only 39 have taken up arms this year. There were some reports on Sunday that Hilal was killed along with two other terrorists in an encounter, but the J&K police denied such claims. They said that Hilal Ahmad was not among the three terrorists neutralized in the Gilli Kadal area of Srinagar.
During the protest on Monday, his family members said that Hilal was an orphan, and he lost his parents when he was in class 10. They requested to trace him and help the family in getting him back home.