January 22
Shams ul Haq Mengnoo is likely one of the three slain Militants in Shermal encounter that raged early morning on Tuesday.
When the younger brother of an IPS officer went missing at the end of May last year, it was feared that he could have joined a Militant group. This was confirmed a few days later that Shams-Ul-Haq Mengnoo is now a part of militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.
On the second death anniversary of slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, the group released photos of its new recruits and Shams was one of them. In the image, he is seen holding an assault rifle and a holstered pistol.
A resident of Dragad area in Shopian district, Shams is the brother of IPS officer Inam Ul-Haq-Mengnoo, who is serving outside the J&K cadre.
Shams was pursuing his studies in Unani medicine and surgery (BUMS) in a government college, situated in the outskirts of Srinagar. He went missing since May 22.
After reports of Shams going missing, the police had said that if he has indeed joined any Militant group, the force will make all efforts to bring him back.
Shams left home shortly after his house was damaged during an encounter in Dragad on April 01, in which 7 Militants were killed.
Scores of youths are known to have joined militant groups and most of these youngsters are said to be from the Shopian and Pulwama districts in South Kashmir.
In 2018, at least 170 youths are said to have joined militant outfits.
Another name that made headlines for joining a Militants outfit last year was Mohammed Rafi Bhat, a Kashmiri PhD scholar and an assistant professor in the Kashmir University, who joined Hizbul Mujahideen on Friday, May 4.
He was involved in the encounter on May 6, and before being gunned down by Government forces.