Kashmir policeman who decamped with service rifles joins Hizbul

Srinagar: A police constable who decamped with four service rifles from Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district has joined the Hizbul Mujahideen separatist group, officials said on Monday.

A senior state intelligence officer said constable Syed Naveed Mushtaq, who decamped with four service rifles from a Food Corporation of India (FCI) warehouse on Saturday, has joined the militant outfit.

A native of Nazneenpora village in south Kashmir's Shopian district, he had joined the state police force in 2012.

In a statement emailed to a local news agency, Hizbul spokesman Burhan-ud-Din has welcomed the constable into the ranks of the militant outfit.

The statement also said that the Hizbul expected more local policemen to join the "freedom struggle".