Police to probe Assam youth who 'joined Hizb'

Assam Police have started an investigation after reports that a youth from the northeastern state has joined Jammu and Kashmir-based militant outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.

The development took place after photographs of Qumer-Uz-Zaman, a native of Jamunamukh in Hojai district went viral on social media.

Zaman was seen holding an automatic weapon in the photographs. His family, including his mother, Shahira Khatun identified him on social media.

Hailing from a middle-class family in Assam, Zaman had stayed in the US for four years. He returned in 2006 and shifted to the Kashmir Valley and told the family that he had started a garment business.

The family told IANS that they had not heard from him since last July, which led them to file a missing person complaint with the police.

"We have not been able to contact him since July 2017. If my son is associated with such an organisation, the government can shoot him, I do not need such a son," Khatun said.

"We have taken up the matter with Jammu and Kashmir Police after receiving intelligence from a central agency," said a top police officer, Pallab Bhattacharya, adding that he went there to work and went missing.

"As of now it is difficult to confirm whether he has joined the group or not. However, we are in touch with the state police and have started a detailed investigation to get more information on him," said Bhattacharyya.

--IANS

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