Two government staff dismissed in J-K for terror links

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha terminated two government employees over alleged links with terror outfits. The action, taken under Article 311, is part of an ongoing crackdown on militant connections within government institutions in the Union Territory

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday terminated the services of two government employees for their alleged links with terror outfits, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen, official sources said.

The dismissals were carried out under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution as part of the administration’s “zero-tolerance to terror” policy, aimed at rooting out militant elements from government institutions.

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Sinha had recently observed that he will not rest until “the last thread of the terror cancer is torn from the body of the government machinery”. He had also vowed that security agencies would “completely, decisively and permanently end the scourge of terrorism”.

One of those dismissed, Farhat Ali Khanday, a Class-IV employee in the education department in Ramban district, was allegedly working for Hizbul Mujahideen and using his government position as a cover to revive militant activities and build networks in the region, they said.

According to sources, Khanday first came under the radar of security agencies in 2011 during investigations into a hawala network involved in distributing funds to families of militants. He was arrested the same year but later secured bail and allegedly continued his activities.

Investigations revealed that he remained in contact with militant networks and acted as a facilitator. A chargesheet was filed against him in a special court in 2022, they said.

“We did not know that Farhat was working for Hizbul Mujahideen until April 2011. His name came out during the interrogation of a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, who was nabbed by Jammu and Kashmir Police for distributing terror money to seven terrorist families. Police picked up Farhat and put him behind bars, but in October 2011, he managed to get bail and continued his terror activities,” official sources revealed.

The second employee, Mohammad Shafi Dar from Bandipora, was working in the rural development department and had been appointed on compassionate grounds, officials said.

He was allegedly acting as a terror associate of Lashkar-e-Taiba, providing logistical and operational support, including arranging safe houses, facilitating the movement of militants, and sharing sensitive information about security forces, they added.

Dar was apprehended in April 2025 during a joint naka check. Arms and ammunition, including an AK-56 rifle and a grenade, were recovered from his possession, sources said.

Further investigation suggested that he had become an active operational associate and was allegedly involved in planning attacks on security forces.

Officials said the action is part of a broader crackdown, under which more than 90 government employees with alleged terror links have been dismissed so far in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sinha has reiterated the administration’s commitment to eliminating terrorism and ensuring that no element inimical to the state operates within the government system, they added.