29-year-old MBA graduate joins Hizbul, family appeals to him to return

Haroon Abbas Wani of Ghat in Doda district joined a militant outfit two days ago, DIG Rafiq-ul-Hassan Qadri told HT.

A 29-year-old man with a master’s degree in business administration and son of a state government engineer, has allegedly joined terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, police said on Monday, citing a widely circulated picture of him holding an assault rifle.

Soldiers stand guard near the house in which militants were killed after gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir. (Waseem Andrabi/HT File Photo)

Haroon Abbas Wani of Ghat in Doda district joined a militant outfit two days ago, DIG, Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban range, Rafiq-ul-Hassan Qadri told HT.

He has been given code name of Moin-ul-Islam by the Hizbul.

“Of course, it is shocking for everybody. He is a well qualified youth, an MBA from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University. His father is a serving engineer and one of his brothers is an MA. He comes from a very good and qualified family,” Qadri said, adding that the police are looking into it.

“They are four brothers, one step-brother and three sisters. Their father Ghulam Abbass Wani is an engineer in rural development department. The entire family is well educated,” police sources said.

Wani’s uncle Farooq Wani has appealed him to return.

It has been learnt that Wani was working with a pharmaceutical company in Jammu before his disappearance from Bhatindi.

Calling it “a wrong tendency”, the DIG said there were regular attempts everywhere to radicalise youths and that the state DGP S P Vaid had stressed on the need to “bring back misguided youth to the mainstream”.

“It is the second case from Doda,” Qadri said. “The first one happened in July when another youth had picked up arms. He got killed in an encounter last week.”

In July, Abid Hussain Bhat aka Abbu Turab from Doda had allegedly joined Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant outfit and his picture too had gone viral on social media.