Major crackdown: J&K LG Manoj Sinha sacks five govt employees over alleged terror links; 85 dismissed since 2021

NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday terminated five government employees over alleged links with terrorist organisations, officials said.According to security agencies, the employees were "active associates" of terror outfits and had infiltrated the administration over the years to "undermine" national security.

The dismissals were carried out under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution, which permits termination without inquiry in matters of state security.Those removed from service include a teacher allegedly linked to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), who was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir Police in April 2022 before he could carry out a planned attack on police personnel. The others include a laboratory technician, a forest department field worker associated with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), an assistant lineman linked to the LeT, and a driver in the health and medical education department.Officials described the action as part of a "broader crackdown" launched in 2021 to dismantle the terror ecosystem in the Union territory. Since then, more than 85 government employees have been dismissed for alleged terror links.The move follows Union home minister Amit Shah’s recent directive to security forces to intensify counter-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir, with a focus on terror infrastructure and financing, and to sustain gains made after the abrogation of Article 370.(With ANI inputs)