NEW DELHI: Days after a Kashmiri youngster went missing from a private university in the city, pictures of him standing next to a flag of terror group Islamic State (IS) surfaced on several social media posts on Saturday. Ahtesham Bilal Sofi (17), a resident of downtown Srinagar, was a first year graduation student at Greater Noida’s Sharda University and went missing on October 28.
He reportedly left the campus with permission to go to Delhi but never returned. A complaint was registered in the case at the Knowledge Park police station in Greater Noida and the Khanyar police station in Srinagar, officials said.
He had reportedly been roughed up in a scuffle between Indian and Afghan students in the campus last month. Pictures on social media showed Sofi dressed in a black outfit and claimed he had joined militant group ISJK, an outfit influenced by ISIS ideology. The UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) said it has taken cognisance of the photos. “We are in touch with the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) police. We are tracking the footprints of the boy from Greater Noida to Kashmir,” Inspector General, ATS, Asim Arun said.
Former J&K chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah meanwhile expressed concern over the incident.