3 young runaways from Kashmir found in city

HYDERABAD: When Aqeeb Aslam Wani left his home in Anantnag district of south Kashmir after a quarrel with his stepmother, his family thought the youth along with his two friends might have crossed the border to Pakistan to join militant ranks. Before leaving the house, he took along about `80,000, typical of many youngsters who leave their homes to receive militant training in Pakistan. But then, that was not the intention of Aqeeb. Instead, he and his two friends ended up in Hyderabad, only to be tracked down and taken back to their homeland.Hyderabad police did, however, face some anxious moments when they received the message that three youngsters from Kashmir were in Hyderabad, which initially led sleuths to press the panic button, what with the ‘terror angle’ playing on their minds. Aqeeb Aslam Wani, Majid Nisar Zargar and Hamid Khan were then tracked down from near a hotel in Nampally and sent back home.Police sources told Express that Aqeeb’s father, Muhammed Aslam Wani runs a carpet business in Kullu-Manali in Himachal Pradesh. He had to be away from Anantnag for business, leaving behind Aqeeb with his stepmother. However, Aqeeb and his stepmother used to have frequent quarrels and one day, he decided to leave home. He then roped in Majid (Aqeeb’s relative) and Hamid. On June 29, all three left home and Aqeeb took along about `80,000. Thereafter, they took a taxi till Jammu, arrived in Delhi where they spent a few days, before boarding a train to Hyderabad. Back in Anantanag, the family lodged a complaint with police, who believed the three may have crossed over to Pakistan for militant training.Once in Hyderabad, they took a room in a Nampally hotel. “On one occasion, one of the three called up their home in Aisha Muqam locality of Anantnag district. The matter was informed to police who immediately made out the number belonged to Hyderabad,” sources said. Soon, Anantnag district SSP Ramesh Kumar Jalla called up his counterpart Akun Sabharwal, deputy commissioner of police, Central Zone and e-mailed particulars of the three youngsters to him. However, as the word spread about presence of Kashmiri youths in Hyderabad, it led to some panic and even Task Force sleuths stepped in along with Abids police.“Based on the telephone numbers (the three were reportedly carrying seven cell phones), we picked them up from a hotel in Nampally,” Abids inspector K Shiva Kumar said. It was during questioning that police learnt Aqeeb had a fight at home and therefore they left Anantnag. The sleuths found `43,000 in cash and seven mobile phones. They confirmed they had no terror angle and  police informed their counterparts in Kashmir that the three had been traced. While 15-year-old Aqeeb has completed his SSC, Majid and Hamid were in the 12th standard. “Aqeeb’s father along with a constable from Kashmir had come here and the children were taken back to Anantnag,” Akun Sabhwaral said. When contacted, Anantnag SSP Ramesh Kumar Jalla said it was out of curiosity that they ended up in Hyderabad. “There is no other motive to it. They simply boarded a train to Hyderabad,” the SSP said. Though for Hyderabad police, it was just another case, for the J&K police, pressure was mounting from different quarters to find the children. They heaved a sigh of relief when the three youngsters were found.