The importance of eliminating Kashmir’s dreaded terrorist Riyaz Naikoo

New Delhi, May 06: The killing of top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, Riyaz Naikoo is a major success for the security forces. He was killed today in an encounter in Kashmir.

Naikoo rose in the ranks of the Hizbul Mujahideen eight months after the killing of Burhan Wani. While the killing of Naikoo avenges the deaths of our security personnel, it also comes as a major relief for the security forces as he was a master at propaganda.

The 35 year old former mathematics teacher carried a bounty of Rs 12 lakh on his head.

In the Hizbul Mujahideen he very quickly rose to become the operational commander of the outfit.

After taking over the spoils, he launched a massive campaign asking the policemen in the Valley to give up their jobs and join the Hizbul. He was also the one who urged terrorists to stage gun salutes at the funeral of terrorists. He had also planned the abduction day in which it was decided to kidnap the families of police officers who did not shun the force.

Intelligence Bureau officials whom OneIndia spoke with explain that the death is significant in a lot of ways. He was more dangerous because of his propaganda. He also held a considerable amount of sway with the youth and was capable of recruiting in large numbers. However, it was post the abrogation of Article 370 and thanks to the strict security measures in place, the recruitment spree into the outfit had gone down, the official also said.

In the past two years, the forces have seen a lot of success in the Valley. Several top terrorists have been eliminated and the Hizbul Mujahideen was one of the outfits that bore the brunt of the same the most. The outfit also suffered a major setback when Zakir Musa broke away and formed his own group. Musa was killed in the earlier part of 2019.

With the Hizbul disintegrating, the role of Musa became extremely important. It was on his shoulders to bring back the glory days of the outfit and had he lived on, he would have managed it to a large extent.

IB officials say that Naikoo post the Pulwama attack was planing a shift in the strategy of the Hizbul. The outfit would largely target the armed and police forces in gun battles. It never attempted fedayeen strikes. However in February 2019, days after the Pulwama suicide attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were martyred, Naikoo had spoke about a shift in strategy.

He had said that the time was not far when children in Kashmir will wear suicide vests and target security forces in the Valley. Even before the abrogation of Article 370 he had said that the forces must be prepared for a long and bloody battle, if the Article is tampered with.

The Article is our identity and when we fight if and when it is tampered with the police of Jammu and Kashmir should not stand in the way, he had said. He said that the youth would make the sacrifice as the Article is very important for J&K.

He had also planned on launching a campaign to kill all non-local labourers in Kashmir. He said that the Kashmiris were being targeted in different parts of the country. He said that the Hizbul Mujahideen would expand its base and launch attacks in all parts of the country.