Zahoor Ahmad Rather, suspected to be the killer of three Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Kashmir last year, was arrested after police got a tip-off about his movement.
The Lashkar trained terrorist was working with The Resistant Force, the offshoot of Lashkar which aims to kill the political leaders in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Security forces believe TRF was formed after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35 A on August 5, 2019.
Security establishment also believes the TRF is controlled from across the border and aims to vitiate the political environment in the region.
Rather is a resident of Doru village in Anantnag district. He joined Hizbul Muzahideen in 2002 and underwent arms training in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
He had surrendered in 2006 but joined The Resistance Force in 2020. He was instrumental in running TRF in South Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had condoled the murder of three BJP leaders in October 2020. He had tweeted “I condemn the killing of 3 of our young Karyakartas. They were bright youngsters doing excellent work in J & K. My thoughts are with their families in this time of grief. May their soul rest in peace.”
