Anushka Rajvedi, Pune
On Tuesday, four more government employees from Jammu and Kashmir were dismissed without inquiry based on Article 311 (2) (c) of the Indian constitution. Article 311 (2) (c) of the constitution states that ‘a government employee can be dismissed without an inquiry when the President or the governor is satisfied due to the security of the nation’. With the dismissal of these four government employees, the number of dismissed employees has reached 64 in the last four years.
The employees terminated are identified as the School education department’s junior assistant, Bazil Ahmad Mir from North Kashmir’s Khurhama village, Village level worker in Rural Development Department Mohd Zaid Shah from North Kashmir’s Basgran Village in Uri and two police officers, senior grade constable Mushtaq Ahmad Pir from Handwara and the police constable Imtiyaz Ahmad Lone from South Kashmir’s Gamraj village. It has been reported that all four employees were allegedly connected with anti-national activities and narco-terrorism. The employees were dismissed based on the ‘zero tolerance’ policy which was initiated as an action against narco-terrorism.
The officials said that the senior grade constable Mushtaq Ahmad Pir who was enlisted as the constable in 1995 misused his position to allow easy shipment and trading of drugs. As the government kept a keen eye on him, they were able to catch him and he revealed during the interrogation that he had associated himself with Iftikhar Andrabi and helped him with the entire racket of targeting young boys and getting them addicted to it. Police constable Imtiyaz Ahmad Lone was involved with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the terrorist group. Bazil Ahmad Mir, a junior assistant and the village level worker Mohd Zaid Shah were also involved in the racket of drug peddling.
Within the year 2024, there have been nine employees who were dismissed based on Article 311 (2) (c). With an upsurge of criminal activities in Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha assured the citizens that “everything in the Union territory will go back to normal in a few months.”