SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday terminated the services of two more government employees over their alleged militant links by invoking Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution of India.
The sacked government employees have been identified as Farhat Ali Khanday, a Class IV (MTS) employee in the education department and a resident of Banihal in Ramban, and Mohammad Shafi Dar, a Class IV (plantation watcher) in the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and a resident of Hajin in Bandipora in north Kashmir.
In similarly worded dismissal orders, it was stated that the Lieutenant Governor was satisfied, after considering the facts and circumstances of each case and on the basis of information available, that the activities of the two employees were such as to warrant their dismissal from service.
The orders stated that the Lieutenant Governor is satisfied under sub clause (c) of the proviso to clause (2) of Article 311 of the Constitution of India that, in the interest of the security of the state, it is not expedient to hold an inquiry in both cases.
Accordingly, the Lt Governor has dismissed both the government employees from service with immediate effect.
Official sources said Farhat was allegedly working for the militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen and using his government position as a cover to revive militant activities and build networks in the region.
According to sources, Khanday came under the radar of security agencies in 2011 during investigations into a hawala network involved in distributing funds to militant families. “He was arrested in the same year but later secured bail and allegedly continued his activities”.
A chargesheet was filed against him in a special court in 2022, they said.
Official sources said Mohammad Shafi Dar was allegedly acting as a militant associate of Lashkar e Taiba. “He was providing logistical and operational support, including arranging safe houses, facilitating the movement of militants, and sharing sensitive information about security forces”.
Dar, they said, was apprehended in April 2025 during a joint naka check, and an AK 56 rifle and a grenade were recovered from his possession.
The Lt Governor has so far sacked more than 80 government employees in J&K for their alleged anti national activities by invoking Article 311 of the Constitution of India.
Under the proviso (c) of Article 311(2), the government is empowered to terminate an employee without recourse to the normal procedure if it is satisfied that his or her retention in public service is prejudicial to the security of the state.
The government had earlier formed a Special Task Force (STF) to scrutinise the cases of employees suspected of activities requiring action under the proviso (c) of Article 311(2) of the Constitution of India.
After the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and the bifurcation of the J&K state into two Union Territories by the Centre on August 5, 2019, the J&K administration has gone tough against its employees in the Union Territory.