One of the two Lashker-e-Taiba militants, who were overpowered by villagers and handed to the police in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, was associated with the BJP reported The Indian Express.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police have identified the suspected militants as Talib Hussain Shah, a resident of Draj village in Rajouri, and Faizal Ahmed Dar from Pulwama. They were captured by the residents of Tuksan Dhok village.
The police said two rifles, seven grenades, a pistol and ammunition were seized from Shah and Dar.
Soon after they were caught, it came to light that Shah was the head of the Information Technology and Social Media Cell of BJP’s Minority Morcha in Jammu province.
Shah was appointed to the post on May 9, according to an order issued by BJP’s Minority Morcha Jammu and Kashmir unit, reported NDTV. He also has several pictures with senior BJP leaders, including Jammu and Kashmir party chief Ravindra Raina, according to the news channel.
Sheikh Bashir, the president of BJP Minority Morcha Jammu and Kashmir unit, told The Indian Express that Shah never attended the organisation’s meetings. Bashir added that Shah quit the role as well as the organisation on May 27.
Raina said that Shah was “never even a primary member” of the BJP. On his photos with the suspected militant, Raina claimed that Shah’s Facebook page to be part of “a tactic by terror groups to show themselves as party workers so as to have access to party leaders and attack them at the first opportunity”.