Srinagar, October 1: The Special Police Officer (SPO) who decamped last week has joined terror group Hizbul Mujahideen on Monday. The pictures of the SPO Adil Bashir posing with an AK-47 rifle alongside Hizbul commander Zeenat-ul-Islam went viral on social media. The police confirmed the news of Bashir joining the terror outfit.

The Jammu and Kashmir police has also claimed that it has identified the civilian who helped Bashir, a resident of Shopian district, to flee with seven AK-47 Rifles and a pistol from the official residence of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Aijaz Mir in Srinagar's Jawahar Nagar area. The MLA was reported to be in Jammu at the time of the incident. The police had also detained 10 of the legislator's personal security guards for interrogation. Hizbul Mujahideen Releases 14 Family Members Of Jammu And Kashmir Police Including Three Policemen

Bashir who was deployed on the guard duty of the PDP MLA deserted the police and decamped with eight weapons on Friday. After the incident, a high alert was issued. The guards deployed at Mir’s residence reported that Bashir was missing along with their service weapons. A reward of Rs. 2 lakh was announced for information on the SPO.

In September there were reports that ten officers of J&K police had resigned following a threat from terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs denied these reports, calling them 'false propaganda by mischievous elements'.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 01, 2018 12:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).