Syed Abdul Mueed, son of Pak-based Hizb chief Syed Salahuddin, among four J-K employees dismissed from service

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar August 13

The Jammu and Kashmir Administration led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday dismissed four officials for their alleged links with separatists.

The dismissed officials include Assaba-ul-Arjumand Khan, wife of Farooq Dar alias Bitta Karate, who is accused of killing Kashmiri Pandits in the early 90s, and Syed Abdul Mueed, son of Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin.

As per Sinha-led Administration, the four employees were dismissed under Article 311 of the Constitution of India for their involvement in anti-national activities.

The Article 311 of the Constitution of India, provides for dismissal of a person employed in civil capacities under the Union or a State.

“The activities of these employees had come to the adverse notice of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, as they have been found involved in activities prejudicial to the interests of the security of the State,” government spokesperson said.

On July 30, 2020, the Sinha Administration constituted a committee which after scrutinizing the inputs, records and cognizable material recommended dismissal of Dr. Muheet Ahmad Bhat, Scientist-D in the Post-Graduate Department of Computer Science, University of Kashmir; Majid Hussain Qadri, Senior Assistant Professor, Department of Management Studies, University of Kashmir; Syed Abdul Mueed, Manager, IT, Jammu Kashmir Entrepreneur Development Institute (JKEDI); and Assabah-ul-Arjamand Khan, a Kashmir Administrative Service officer in Directorate of Rural Development, Kashmir.

“Dr. Bhat has been found involved in propagating the secessionist-terrorist agenda in University of Kashmir by radicalising the students for advancing the programme and agenda of Pakistan and its proxies,” the government said.

Qadri, a Senior Assistant Professor in University of Kashmir, has a long “association with terror organisations that includes LeT,” the government said.

Mueed has been found having a role in “three terror attacks on JKEDI complex at Sempora in Pampore and his presence in the Institution has increased sympathy with the secessionist forces,” the government said.

Khan has been found involved in providing false information for seeking a passport, the government spokesperson said. “She has been found having links with foreign people who have been indexed by the Indian security and intelligence to be on the payrolls of the ISI. Her involvement in ferrying consignment of money for funding anti-India activities in Jammu and Kashmir has also been reported,” government said.

In May, the government terminated three officials, including a senior Professor of Chemistry at the University of Kashmir, because he like thousands of other Kashmiris had crossed over to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir for arms training in the early 90s. On return he gave up arms and went to Aligarh Muslim University to study chemistry and later got appointed as Assistant Professor at the University of Kashmir.

Since July 2020, dozens of employees have been terminated from service by the administration.