Hizb ‘Div Commdr’ found dead in rivulet

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

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SRINAGAR, Aug 3: One of the most wanted commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen, Tariq Ahmad Mir of Handwara, who according to the Jammu and Kashmir Police was ‘second-in-command’ to the Lashkar-e-Islam chief Qayyum Najar, was on Monday found dead in a rivulet in Sumbal area of Bandipore district.

Informed official sources told STATE TIMES that 36-year-old Tariq Ahmad Mir alias Tariq Mawri of Adoora Mawar (Handwara), who operated under the code-names of Zahid and Arif, was found dead in Ferozpora Nallah in Mirgund-Sumbal belt of North Kashmir. His body was first sighted by the local labourers who, as usual, had gone to extract sand from the rivulet. On search of the body, Police claimed to have recovered a Pakistani-made Shaheen pistol with nine rounds of 9mm calibre from a belt.

For hours of the day, Police attempted to ascertain the identity of the suspected militant. A Police party also called on the family members of the North Kashmir’s most wanted militant Qayyum Najar in Sopore. However, his relatives insisted that it was not Najar. They claimed that they had never seen the man whose photographs were shown to them.

It was towards late afternoon that Handwara Police got the deceased identified as Tariq Ahmad Mir of Adoora Mawar. Until recently, when Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salahuddin announced Najar’s expulsion from the organisation, Tariq reportedly held the rank of the outfit’s “Divisional Commander” in Sopore-Handwara belt.

Sources said that Tariq’s body was carried to Handwara and handed over to his foster father Mohammad Sultan Mir. According to the Police reports, around 4,000 people participated in Namaz-e-Janazah before chanting pro-Azadi and pro-Pakistan slogans.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, North Kashmir, Gareeb Das, told STATE TIMES that while holding the rank of Hizbul Mujahideen’s “Divisional Commander”, Tariq was also the “second-in-command” of the front guerrilla outfit ‘Lashkar-e-Islam’ that had spread a wave of terror all over the Valley, particularly in Sopore and Srinagar, with a series of attacks on the people associated with mobile telephony operations. Significantly, Salahuddin announced Najar’s expulsion from Hizbul Mujahideen last month, holding him responsible for innocent killings and attacks on mobile telephony operators.

Separatist circles had widely labelled Lashkar-e-Islam as a front organisation floated by and operating under the direction and command of the Indian Army. However, in a Press conference, Director General of Police K Rajendra Kumar said that Najar and his group were operating ‘Lashkar-e-Islam’ under cover and they were involved in half-a-dozen civilian killings in Sopore area.

DIG Gareeb Das said that over a dozen FIRs stood registered against Tariq at different Police Stations. “We are still collecting the details of the crimes committed by him. As of now, we have found him booked in nine FIRs. He was involved in all the recent civilian killings in Sopore area and getting four Police personnel including SHO trapped and killed in an operation at Hygam. He had targeted SDPO Pattan in an IED attack in Nihalpora”, DIG said. He claimed that Tariq was an IED expert who had recruited a number of youths for Hizb and Lashkar-e-Islam. According to DIG, Tariq and Najar, were travelling in a Tavera from Palhalan (Pattan) to Srinagar, on Srinagar-Baramulla highway, late on July 31 when they were stopped by a Police naka at Mirgund. On being asked about their identity and destination, they produced fake identity cards and claimed that they were going to see their ailing brother in a hospital. However, as soon as SHO Pattan Saleem Mir asked them to get down for physical frisking and checking of the vehicle, they opened fire. Three Policemen, including SHO, sustained injuries. Driver of the civilian Tavera, Bilal Ahmad Gujri, was also injured.

Both the militants managed to escape while abandoning the vehicle. Police alerted different units of RR 2^nd Bn and RR 29^th Bn, CRPF besides Pattan and Sumbal Police. The militant duo succeeded to give a slip to at least two Police and Army nakas. However, a Police party chased away the duo. Even as Qayyum Najar escaped successfully, Tariq drowned into a rivulet. Not sure about the identity of the man who drowned, Police and armed forces maintained calm but continued search. Tracker dogs had indicated the two militants’ movement towards Sumbal.

There was no clue on Saturday and Sunday. However, on Monday, Tariq Mir’s body was spotted in the rivulet. It had bloated and had a small cut on the nose.


DIG said that Tariq had joined Hizbul Mujahideen in 2001. He had received guerrilla training at a camp in PoK and returned in 2004. Later, he went back to PoK and returned in 2010. Police and Army claimed that Tariq’s death by drowning had caused a major blow to militancy in North Kashmir.

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