A special police officer (SPO) who went missing from Pampore police station in Jammu and Kashmir with an AK-47 rifle, has joined the Hizbul Mujahideen, the militant group said.
Hizb spokesman Burhan-u-Din called a local news agency and claimed that Irfan Ahmad Dar had joined the group.
"SPO Irfan Ahmad Dar, a resident of Nehama Kakapora of Pulwama district, who fled with his rifle, has joined Hizb-ul-Mujahideen," the spokesman said.
Dar went missing on Tuesday from Pampore police station along with the AK-47 rifle. Police said earlier that a hunt had been launched to trace him.
SPOs are engaged on a fixed monthly packet in Jammu and Kashmir to fight militancy. They are neither trained in handling firearms nor are they issued service weapons.
--IANS
sq/mr
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