Srinagar : A photograph of a P.h.D Scholar turned militant has gone viral on social media evoking emotions from netizens in the Kashmir valley.
The militant wearing a traditional Kashmiri cloak known as Pheran can be seen holding an AK-47 rifle in the photograph which has been widely shared on social media.
The militant has been identified as Waseem Ahmed Rather from Quimoh area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam District.
Waseem had joined Militancy in May this year adding to the list of highly educated militants operational in the valley.
The last time Waseem was spotted was at the funeral of his close friend Adil on 06 May.
Adil was a CRPF man before he quit his job and started working as a teacher. During the clashes at Badigam Encounter in which Saddam Padder was killed, Adil was shot dead along with 4 other civilians.
Locals from Quimoh said that the death of his friend Adil Ahmed who was killed during clashes near an encounter site on May 06 in Badigam Shopian was the sole reason behind this PhD Scholar joining Militancy.
Waseem has joined the Militant outfit Hizb ul Mujahideen and is survived by old aged parents and a brother.
Following the killing of rebel commander Burhan Wani in 2016 south Kashmir has witnessed a surge in youth joining the Militant ranks.
Despite the Indian Army having launched ‘Operation All Out’ and intensifying the Anti Militancy operations, the local Militancy is on rise.
Militancy this year has seen a huge rise after the three encounters that raged on a single day on April 01 in South Kashmir ending with the death of 13 local Militants.
Scores of Kashmiris have taken up the gun since the armed insurgency broke out in 1989 in the Himalayan region.
This year alone more than 200 militants including Mannan Wani and Sameer tiger and Saddam Padder have been killed by government forces.
Agencies
