Image Source: THE TRIBUNE

From a suave schoolteacher to most-wanted militant commander, Riyaz Naikoo came a long way to redefine new-age militancy in Kashmir. 35-year-old Riyaz Naikoo, alias Mohammad-Bin-Qasim, who was killed in a gunfight at his native village of Beighpora in south Kashmir along with an associate, remained operational chief of the Kashmir’s indigenous militant group Hizbul Mujahideen for nearly three years. Before joining militancy, Naikoo was a mathematics teacher in a private school. In 2010 when the unrest erupted in Kashmir, he took to streets and was arrested. Two years later he joined the Hizbul Mujahideen and remained a close aide of militant commander Burhan Wani, the poster boy of new-age militancy in Kashmir. After the killing of Wani, the Hizb command was taken by Yasin Yatoo, alias Mehmood Ghaznavi, who was killed in a gunfight in August 2017. After Yatoo’s death, Naikoo took over the command of the group. When Naikoo took over Hizb, the group was looking for disintegration due to the rise in a radical militant group, which was led by one of his former companion Zakir Musa, who was popular among young people. He however kept the Hizb together. Naikoo’s ability to bind together his associates and subordinates prevailed, a security official said. The tech-savvy Naikoo did not only kept his group together but ensured that Hizb cadre remains wedded to the Pakistan and Hizb ideologically. He would keep an eye on politics and other social aspects as well and used to issue kind of policy guidelines to militants. One of the last audio messages was on Covid-19. An A-plus plus category militant with a prize of Rs 12.5 lakh on his head, Naikoo was the mastermind of the attacks on policemen. When his father was detained by the police in 2018, his group abducted at least 11 family members of the policemen, which according to a senior police official was aimed at demoralising the security forces which did not work eventuality. He was the brain behind the abduction of families of policemen, a police officer said. Jammu and Kashmir former DGP SP Vaid, during whose tenure the abduction of policemen took place, said Naikoo was responsible for kidnapping and killing of multiple policemen. Elimination of top Hizbul Mujahideen commander #RiyazNaikoo in a joint operation is a big success for J&K Police and security forces. He was responsible for kidnapping and killing of multiple policemen.