Syed Yousuf: Militant-turned-NC’s kingmaker

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 30: Without regard to situation, turmoil or peace, Syed Mohmmad Yousuf of Loktipora, Bijbehara, mastered the art of living---little knowing that he would die one day on the state’s most protected premises.

A Government school-teacher, Yousuf lost no time in switching his loyalty to Hizbul Mujahideen when secessionist militancy was at its peak in early 1990s. With waning of Hizb’s influence, he built a network of the officials of School Education Department that included over a dozen headmasters, Principals, Zonal Education Officers and at least three Chief Educational Officers in Anantnag district. His network meticulously managed to absorb 100 to 150 youth as teachers at different schools. Rate of Rs 50,000 stood fixed for each absorption.

Crime Branch sleuths later learned that the modus operandi was unique. ZEOs and CEOs would issue “transfer orders” shifting “teachers” (who had never been appointed) from one school to another. Fake LPCs followed and all of them took home salaries. In 1995, then Director of School Education, Mohammad Amin Khan, made all possible efforts to dismiss the fraudulently absorbed teachers. He was silenced by Ikhwan guerrilla cadres. Khan had disadvantage of being a resident of Mattan, in the same district.

And when both, militants as well as counter-insurgents, were marginalized in 1996, Yousuf lost no time to gain proximity to NC’s patron Dr Farooq Abdullah. He influenced distribution of tickets to some extent in 2002 Assembly elections. Six years later, Yousuf was a veritable kingmaker in the party that returned to power after Amarnath turmoil.

According to well-placed insiders, Yousuf had ultimate say in distribution of NC’s tickets in Assembly elections on 2008 in south Kashmir. “Contributions” ranged between Rs 7 Lakh and Rs 30 Lakh.

Close to Farooq Abdullah and NC General Secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmed—later also to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah through his intimate coterie, it was Syed Yousuf who ultimately decided who would be picked up as MLC and who would go to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. According to party sources, he cleared two young NC aspirants, who were both defeated candidates of Assembly elections, for two vacancies in Legislative Council in March 2009 only after receiving cash payment of Rs 30 Lakhs. One of the duo was picked up as MLC inspite having dubious past and shared business with PDP’s MLA of Home Shalibugh and former Minister of State for Health Abdul Gaffar Sofi.

In NC, many believe it was none other Yousuf who managed to get over half-a-dozen defeated candidates nominated or elected as MLC, all on cash payment. Nobody is sure whether the huge amounts of money went upto the top brass in NC or Yousuf held it fully to himself. He is believed to have comfortably handle transactions of over Rs 10 Crore in the last three years of Omar Abdullah’s government.

Official confirmation of Yousuf having received Rs 84 lakh from NC’s Block President of Ganderbal, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, (reliably for making him MLC and MoS) and Rs 34 Lakh from Abdul Salam Rishi of Akingam (for making him MLC) is said to be just a tip of the iceberg.

Yousuf was known for his free access to who is who in top corridors of power. They include everybody from union Minister and NC Patron Farooq Abdullah to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, all other Ministers and Advisors belonging to NC, besides most of the senior officers of Police and civil administration. He was prominently in control of arrangements when an IGP Farooq Ahmad managed to regain his grace through a court case and later arranged a grand Wazwan at his home for most of the influential politicians, bureaucrats and Police officers. Significantly, both Dr Farooq Abdullah as well as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, besides everybody in Police and bureaucracy attended the feast.

Yousuf is believed to have settled things between IPS officer Faroooq Ahmad, whose service had been terminated earlier for discrepancy in date of birth, and the state government that wasted not a second to entertain Farooq back at Police headquarters. Meaningfully, Government did not go in appeal against the order of the single judge of J&K High Court. Party cadres, as well as reliable official sources, insist that even the most powerful Police and civil officers would manage their prize postings through Yousuf, who carried the reputation of being “the most trusted service provider”.

Few months back, Yousuf assured NC’s top brass that it would take him just 24 hours to engineer a split in PDP. However, the proposal was not approved by the party high command and the government. He was strongly suspected of a role in secretly winning liaison of five MLAs of PDP with the NC.

Yousuf would manage everything from allotment of contracts and supply orders to arrangements of seats for the sons and daughters of his clients---mostly politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats---in professional colleges. In 2009, he collected a sum of Rs 28 Lakh from PDP’s MLA of Tral, Mushtaq Ahmad Shah, with the assurance that he would arrange two MBBS seats in non-resident Indian quota at ASSCOMS (Batra Medical College of Jammu) for the politician’s two daughters through the good offices of his “boss in NC”.

When he failed to honour the commitment to his client, the MLA asked him to return the money. As Yousuf resorted to dilly dally, MLA got him under tremendous pressure from a many quarters. He even threatened to sell off Yousuf’s newly acquired residential house at Kadalbal, Pampore.  After a great deal of trouble, MLA managed to get back his money but less by Rs 4 Lakh. Yousuf returned to him just Rs 24 Lakh.

NC’s lately elected MLC, Dr Bashir Ahmad Veeri, is also known to have paid a considerable amount of money to Yousuf before he was picked up from among a dozen of aspirants in the NC in South Kashmir.

Yousuf finally landed in trouble when his collection of Rs 84 Lakh from NC’s Ganderbal Block President, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, on account of making him MLA and Minister of State leaked in the organisation as well as Government. In separate inquiries, CID and Intelligence Bureau found that Yousuf had also collected Rs 34 Lakh from Abdul Salam Rishi of Akingam for making him MLC. Elections to fill up four Panchayat vacancies in J&K Legislative Council are likely to be held in the next two months. Yousuf has died but at least four to five more Yousuf’s are still believed to be calling the shots in Chief Minister’s organisation and the Government. With or without his knowledge? Only a thorough investigation could reveal.

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