Kashmir Cops Probe If Professor Who Joined Terrorists Was Killed By Them

New Delhi: Mohammad Rafi Bhat, an assistant professor of Kashmir University who was among five terrorists found dead after an encounter in south Kashmir's Shopian on Sunday, had only one gunshot injury on the head, according to reports reaching the union home ministry. 

The Jammu and Kashmir police that was also part of the operation is now probing whether the teacher was killed by terrorists.

The family of Bhat who taught sociology at Kashmir University had told the police that he had been untraceable since Friday. Police said they got the family of the assistant professor, who had joined the terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen, to persuade him to surrender but he refused.

Home ministry officials are worried about the recent spurt in encounters in the valley, particularly those in the past week. "The last three days were intense and so would the next three days be," said a senior official.

Latest inputs available with the ministry suggest that terrorists are trying to mobilise protests by school children. "We have cautioned security forces to be more careful," a senior official told NDTV.

Another cause of worry is the sighting of some terrorists in Srinagar though the local police argue that they have been precise information about terrorists. "We are getting lot of information from locals, that is why we have been able to eliminate so many in the last few days," said a senior officer of the Jammu and Kashmir police.

 Home-grown terrorism is also keeping security forces on their toes. This year, as many as 45 young men from Kashmir have joined the terrorist ranks.

Last week, Dineshwar Sharma, the centre's special representative to Jammu and Kashmir, submitted a report to the home ministry about the sense of alienation among the Kashmiri youth.

Ministry officials have also made a detailed presentation to National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the current challenges in Kashmir. State police chief SP Vaid was also present at that meeting along with other senior officers. 

Mr Doval has asked the state police to ensure that tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir are not harmed. On Monday, a tourist from Chennai who was hit by a stone during clashes between protesters and security forces near Srinagar died in hospital.