Cover Story / Jammu & Kashmir : Who tipped for Burhan killing?

The murmuring in the sensitive Valley is revolving around this million dollar question

Who killed Burhan? This question was the tip of the iceberg. The actual iceberg was who gave the tipoff that led to the killing of Burhan. The first shroud of doubt was about the agency that killed Burhan. The general misnomer that the Army is behind all high profile killings, went up in smoke when it came to light that Burhan’s end was brought about by an operation carried out by a special force of Jammu Kashmir Police. Then came the billion dollar question, who provided the critical lead that resulted in Burhan’s nabbing and liquidation. Much to everyone’s surprise, so many theories floated, each with substantial or circumstantial evidence of validity that it opened a Pandora’s box. From love angle to ISI angle, nothing was spared. The first natural conclusion is that he was so active on social media that he himself got trapped and provided information about whereabouts. This proposition is an easy one and not convincing enough. Burhan had been active for that last six years and commanding operation without participating in it, so must be tech-savvy enough to take the precaution while being active on social platforms. Another theory that circulated immediately after Burhan’s death was that the information about his whereabout was provided by a jilted lover or an exploited woman wanting revenge. While this cannot be ruled out, knowing Burhan’s eye for beauty, there is no tangible evidence in the public domain to substantiate this angle. Then there is the family feud angle. According to this angle, Burhan was embroiled in a family feud that got aggravated by his ill-gotten position (HuM Commander), popularity and pelf. Possible, not probable. There is another important angle that is being discussed in the gossip mongering pockets of Valley is the ISI angle.
The ISI involvement theory in Burhan’s death was initially dismissed outright by objective and neutral people like me who felt it was not fair to blame ISI for all and sundry. But then one-by-one skeletons tumbled from the closet and evidences started piling in favour of this theory. Let us look at some of the arguments in this regard. Firstly, ISI has not been able to succeed in cross-border infiltration for quite sometime now. Pak establishments attempts at promoting unrest in the Valley in the name of agitations against the setting up of Sainik Colony and Pandit Colony, received a cold response, making Pak and its handlers all the more desperate for some incident to disrupt the peace and stability in the State. What better way than to liquidate an icon they had created out of nobody and nothing. Burhan Wani, the drop-out son of a school master, had become bigger than they thought or planned. So big that he was over-shadowing the very cause for which he was created. His death would disturb the Valley and divert public ire on the men in uniform and rekindle the dying embers of jihad. Come to think of it, the biggest beneficiary of Burhan’s death is Pak-supported separatists. The way news and photos of his killing went viral, it is beyond doubt that somebody was waiting for this to happen. How else would one explain the record-breaking speed (20 minutes) at which the entire operation, from tip off to circulation of Burhan’s dead image, not to forget the condolences from across the border, took place? An answer to restoration of peace perhaps lies in this critical question.