NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha terminated the services of two government employees in the Union Territory on Friday over their alleged involvement in terror activities, officials said. The dismissed employees were identified as Siyad Ahmad Khan, an assistant stockman in the Sheep Husbandry Department residing in the Keran area, and Khurshid Ahmad Rather, a school teacher from the Karnah area – both in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution was invoked to terminate their services after investigations by security and intelligence agencies established their involvement, PTI quoted officials saying. Both are currently lodged in the Kupwara district jail. According to officials, Rather is accused of working as an overground worker (OGW) for Lashkar-e-Taiba. A probe revealed that Rather, who was appointed under the Rehbar-e-Taleem scheme in 2003 and confirmed in 2008, allegedly procured and distributed arms and narcotics for Pakistan-based handlers. He was arrested earlier this year after arms were seized in Kupwara. He was tasked by Pakistan-based handlers to procure and distribute arms, ammunition and narcotics among active terrorists in the Valley. He reportedly received several consignments through the LoC in Karnah. The weapons were supplied to terrorists, while proceeds from narcotics sales were used to fund operations, officials said. His role surfaced after intelligence inputs on January 25-2024 indicated that two Pakistani terrorists, with the help of four associates, including Rather, were smuggling arms in Kupwara. Khan, appointed in 2004, was caught with an AK-47 and is accused of sheltering and infiltrating terrorists and smuggling arms. Investigators revealed that he was in touch with a Pakistan-based handler, who used him for smuggling arms and narcotics across the LoC for further distribution to active LeT terrorists. Officials described their actions as “betrayal of national trust”, underscoring the administration’s zero-tolerance policy against terror support networks within government ranks. They said the Lieutenant Governor was satisfied after considering the facts and circumstances of the cases and noted that, on the basis of the information available, the activities of the two are such as to warrant their dismissal from service. More than 70 govt employees have been dismissed in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years over alleged terror links.
