Overview
- The five dismissed were Mohammad Ishfaq (teacher), Tariq Ahmad Rah (lab technician), Bashir Ahmad Mir (assistant lineman), Farooq Ahmad Bhat (forest worker) and Mohammad Yousuf (health department driver), officials said.
- Dossiers allege Ishfaq worked with Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Mohammad Amin alias Abu Khubaib and was arrested in April 2022 after being tasked to kill a police officer in Doda.
- Investigators say Rah facilitated Hizbul commander Amin Baba’s 2005 escape to Pakistan, while Bhat allegedly used his government credentials to aid that exfiltration and was arrested in 2024.
- Police records cite a September 2021 encounter in which two LeT militants were killed inside Mir’s home, with AK-47s and ammunition recovered.
- Yousuf was intercepted on July 20, 2024 with a pistol, a grenade, ammunition and Rs 5 lakh, and the administration says more than 85 employees have been removed since 2021 as part of the crackdown, drawing criticism from opposition leaders over due process.