Missing Assam man may have joined Hizb ranks, suspect police

A 38-year-old missing man from Assam, whose images with an automatic rifle went viral on social media, might have joined terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, a senior Assam police official familiar with the matter said.

The official said information received from police and intelligence sources in Kashmir has revealed that Qamar uz Zaman, who worked as a small time businessman, was working along side Hizbul commander Sameer Bhat alias Sameer Tiger and was likely active in the Valley’s Pulwama and Rajpura.

Zaman, who went missing on July 10, 2017, is suspected to have got in touch with Bhat through another worker of the banned group, who would visit Kishtwar, according to the official.

On April 8 , a Facebook post by an account based in Pakistan, carried a photo of Zaman wielding an assault rifle, and claimed that he had joined the Hizbul Mujahideen. The Assam Police has since then been waiting for confirmation from their counterparts in Jammu. Meanwhile, the J&K DGP had issued a statement saying that there was no missing persons complaint in Jammu.

Yet, a report submitted by the Hojai district police on April 17 after Zaman made headlines earlier this month, has interesting details. While there was no missing persons report in Assam, the report says that after Zaman went missing, one of his family members had come to the Jamuna Mukh police station to file a report.

Since the officer in charge was not there, a sub-inspector asked them to file the complaint in Kishtwar. But, the report says the official had asked the member to return once the officer is back. “But, he (the family member) did not return,” the report says.

Litan Das, a friend of Zaman’s, had approached the Special Task Force of the state police in October 2017, to ask for Zaman’s whereabouts. However, the report states that none of Zaman’s family members made any attempt to visit Jammu.

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