IPS officer’s brother joined militancy after gunfight at his house

Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, January 22

Training to be a Unani doctor and younger brother of an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, Shamsul Haq Mengnoo, alias Burhan Saani (23), joined the militant ranks a month after a gunfight took place at their house.

Hizbul Mujahideen militant Shamsul of Dragad, Shopian, was killed on Tuesday along with two of his associates in a gunfight with security forces in Shopian district. He was the younger brother of 2012-batch IPS officer Inam-ul-Haq who is serving in the North-east.

He had joined militant ranks in May last year, over a month after seven militants were killed in a gunfight on April 1 in his house at Dragad village. Hizb commander Zubair Turray was among the slain militants. A civilian, Shamsul’s neighbour, was also killed in the gunfight.

“He left for college one day and never returned,” a family friend said. Shamsul was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Unani medicine and surgery at a private college in the Zakura area of Srinagar.

“The family tried hard to get him back, but he had made up his mind,” the family friend disclosed.

His version of the story was supported by former DGP SP Vaid on Tuesday. Vaid took to Twitter soon after Shamsul was gunned down. “I remember the efforts made by his brother and other family members to try and bring him back to the mainstream but he met a sad end on Tuesday,” Vaid tweeted.

According to family and friends, Shamsul was a shy and obedient boy who never had anything to do with either militancy or stone-throwing.

“What prompted him to pick up the gun will remain a mystery, at least to me. Some might know better than me,” the family friend said.