Kupwara: Police on Sunday claimed to have “rescued” four youths from militancy in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
A police official said that “reliable information” was received regarding some youth from different parts of Kupwara district “being exploited for commission of (militancy) acts and being motivated for their eventual induction into militant ranks by Pakistan based (militant) handlers.
“Police acted swiftly and raided four places in district Kupwara and apprehended four youths (names withheld),” the official said.
After sustained questioning, the official said, all four of them admitted they were being rigorously and regularly motivated from last few months by a “Pak based militant handler to lob grenades on (government) forces as their preliminary test to formally enter into militant ranks.”
“Pertinently it surfaced that various social media platforms are being used by Pakistan for luring and coercing gullible youth towards the destructive path of (militancy),” the spokesman said, adding, “Keeping in view the past record of these youth and the efforts put in by their families and elders to encourage them to shun path of (militancy), police decided to adopt a humane approach and hand them over to their respective families,” the official said, adding, “Kupwara police has once again foiled the evil designs of Pakistan based (militants) to recruit local youth into (militancy)”.