Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 1: The dismissal of two more teachers for their alleged involvement in terrorist activities has reignited concerns over the deepening infiltration of militant networks into Jammu and Kashmir’s Education Department. Officials revealed that a majority of government employees sacked in the past four days for terror links were serving in this department.
Since the establishment of a Special Task Force (STF) in April 2021 to identify government employees involved in anti-national activities, 80 such officials have been terminated, of which 50 belonged to the Education Department, sources said.
The latest action came on Wednesday, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha ordered the dismissal of Ghulam Hussain and Majid Iqbal Dar, both teachers, after investigations confirmed their active support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit.
Hussain, who joined as a Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teacher in 2004 and was regularised in 2009, was posted at the Government Primary School, Kalwa, Mahore (Reasi). Investigations revealed that he worked covertly as an Over Ground Worker (OGW) for LeT, strengthening the terror network in Reasi and adjoining areas. He was arrested in 2023 following evidence that he remained in contact with LeT operatives Mohammad Qasim and Ghulam Mustafa through encrypted apps.
“Hussain received terror funds via local conduits and disbursed them to families of militants, helped in recruitment, and arranged logistics for terror activities,” said an official privy to the probe.
Similarly, Majid Iqbal Dar, initially appointed as a laboratory assistant in 2009 and promoted as a teacher in 2019, was found to be an OGW of LeT, involved in radicalising youth in Rajouri and its adjoining regions. Investigators also linked him to narco-terror operations and to LeT terrorist Mohammad Jabar. Police said Dar used proceeds from drug trafficking to fund terror activities. His connection surfaced in January 2023 after the recovery of an IED planted near a J&K Bank branch in Rajouri.
In recent months, several similar cases have exposed the extent of terrorist penetration in the education system. Some days earlier, a school teacher was arrested for providing logistical support to Pakistani terrorists behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives, including that of a Nepalese national. The accused, Mohammad Yousuf Katari from Kulgam, allegedly worked as an active LeT member while drawing a government salary.
In January 2023, police busted a narco-terror module in Kupwara’s Karnah area, led by Khursheed Ahmad Rather, a government employee who collected arms and drugs smuggled from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
Likewise, in November 2023, three terrorists — including a government teacher — were arrested in Poonch, for operating a terror module directed by mentors across the Line of Control (LoC).
Another high-profile arrest was made in February 2023, when Arif Ahmad, a government school teacher turned LeT operative, was nabbed for orchestrating two explosions in Jammu city.
Officials said these recurring instances highlight a dangerous pattern of terror infiltration within government institutions, particularly the Education Department.
“This is a serious internal threat that undermines not just national security but also the sanctity of our education system,” a senior officer said, calling for stringent screening and continuous monitoring of employees in sensitive departments. |
