Danish Ahmed, a suspected militant, surrendered before the Handwara Police and the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Ahmed was seen at the funeral of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Sabzar Bhat in the Tral area of the state.
During interrogation, Ahmed confessed that he was in touch with terrorists in south Kashmir through social media and that he decided to walk down the same road on their instigation.
He added that most of the local boys become disillusioned by the "gun" after they join militancy but it is difficult for them to surrender before the security forces due to threats from local militant commanders. Ahmed has also revealed that Pakistan supplied huge amounts of money to local militant groups in the Valley.
News18 quoted a source as saying that Ahmed said most terrorists are involved in extortion and thuggery in the areas in which they operate. They resolve personal disputes of the villagers in the specific areas and extract "protection money" from local bigwigs.
He further said, during interrogation, that most of the local boys join militant groups to "make friends" with local girls who consider them "heroes".
Ahmed, a resident of Kulangam in Handwara, was also involved in stone-pelting incidents that took place in the district in 2016. He was a third-year B.Sc student at Doon PG College of Agriculture Science and Technology in Dehradun.
J&K: Terrorist Danish Ahmed, who was seen at Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Sabzar Bhat's funeral recently, surrenders in J&K. pic.twitter.com/nJR9LttGNm
— ANI (@ANI_news) June 7, 2017