"Resign Or Die": Hizbul's Video Threat To Jammu And Kashmir Security Men

A day after an Army jawan was shot dead by Hizbul Mujahideen, the terror group has threatened security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir to either resign or get ready to be killed. The threat came through a video in which a man, possibly a local commander, can be heard speaking in Kashmiri language. As a collage of images of Jammu and Kashmir police plays, the voice asks the personnel - paramilitary or local police -- to submit their resignations within four days.

"Upload your resignations on the internet or face the consequences," the local head of Umar Majeed group, an offshoot of Hizbul Mujahideen, is heard saying.

NDTV can't verify the authenticity of the video.

Security officials say that posters carrying threats have also come up in many villages. "The threat issued through small videos and posters doesn't appear to be very serious, but definitely has potential to cause serious concerns," a senior Home Ministry official told NDTV.

According to the official, these videos have gone viral in the last 12 hours and the ministry is worried about the repercussions.

Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh, who refused to comment on the threat, said they are taking required steps.

A territorial Army soldier, who had returned home in south Kashmir's Kulgam for his son's funeral, was killed by terrorists on Monday. The gunmen barged into his home in Shurat village and shot him.

Officials say Lance Naik Mukhtar Ahmad Malik was a commander of a disbanded counter-insurgency group before he was recruited in the territorial Army.

He was the latest off-duty soldier to be killed by terrorists in Kashmir. In the last one year, several off-duty personnel have been killed in their homes in south Kashmir, a region heavily infested by terrorism.

The police say that they have identified his killers and efforts are on to nab them.

As many as 190 incidents of violence have been reported in the last three months. At least 65 of them were reported in August in which 14 security personnel and 28 terrorists were killed.

Thirty three security officials, 63 terrorists and 16 civilians have been killed since June.

"The entire counter-insurgency grid in Jammu and Kashmir is run with help of security personnel. Most of them are locals. Terrorists are trying to push the police to a corner. We are acting on it, but as of now threats are more on social media than on ground," a senior official involved in counter-insurgency operations told NDTV.

After the Amarnath Yatra got over last month, the intensity of violence has come down.

"There has been a significant dip in the level of violence. Random grenade attacks and several low-key attacks have been reported in the last few weeks," a senior officer said.

He added that anti-terrorist operations have gone up, which is making certain groups restless. "The Umar Majid group, which has suffered a lot recently, is getting desperate. They are the ones who are issuing threats now," he said.