Photo of policeman with AK-47 sparks rumours of him joining Lashkar-e-Toiba

Jammu: A photograph of a Jammu and Kashmir policeman has gone viral with him holding an AK-47 assault rifle. The photograph doing the rounds of social media has fuelled rumours of him joining the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

Ishfaq Ahmed, posted at the Police Training Centre (PTC) in Kathua district in the state, did not report for duty following a leave.

"Ishfaq Ahmed had gone on leave from PTC Kathua. He was supposed to report back on October 23 but failed to return. We will take legal action against him," a senior officer of PTC Kathua said.

Without giving further details on whether he had joined the LeT in South Kashmir, the officer said the details are being verified.

A resident of Heff Shirmal village in southern Shopian, Ahmed joined the police in 2012. 

After returning home, he went missing after which his family filed a missing report with the police.

There have been eight cases in the recent past where police personnel have deserted their ranks and joined the militancy in Kashmir. 

Earlier in May this year, police constable Syed Naveed Mushtaq fled with four INSAS rifles from a police post in Budgam district of Kashmir and later joined terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.

Territorial Army jawan Zahoor Thakur, resident of Pulwama, had also gone missing in July 2017 with AK-47 from his camp in Baramulla's Gantmulla after which it was suspected that he had joined the terror group.

Constable Naseer Ahmed Pandit, a resident of Pulwama district, had decamped with two AK rifles on March 27, 2015 from the residence of PDP Minister Altaf Bukhari and was subsequently killed in an encounter in Shopian district in April 2016.