Srinagar: Footballer-turned-Lashkar militant Majid Arshid Khan turned up at an army camp in Anantnag and will soon be reunited with his parents who had pleaded for him to return.
The development was yet to be confirmed officially, but police sources told CNN-News18 on condition of anonymity that Majid was unlikely to face any strict punishment as the government had decided to take a “lenient view” of the case.
“We want to encourage more youth to come back. We know that it is difficult, but we are happy with the boys returning to home rather than getting needlessly and tragically killed,” a police source said.
“We will have also to ensure that the security of Majid and his family is not jeopardised,” another top official said, adding that the government would deal “sensitively” in the case as it wants to show him as an example to other youth led astray by militancy.
A photo of the six-foot-tall Majid holding an AK rifle had gone viral earlier this week, shocking his parents and friends. His father Irshad Khan, a government employee, had suffered a minor stroke on learning of his son’s decision to join militancy. He had told CNN-News18 that he was praying for his son’s safe return.
“Look, she (Majid’s mother) is heartbroken. She can't cope with this tragedy. I am 59 and getting old. I don't have the courage to see anything bad happening to him. All I can do is to pray to Allah to return him to us,” he had said.
His mother, Ayesha, kept repeating that she would die if he did not come back. “Bring him back please. I want him to resume studies and play football.”
Nicknamed Pollock for his resemblance with the famous South African cricketer, 20-year-old Majid had quietly left home last week in Anantnag to join Lashkar-e-Taiba. Within hours, his picture with an assault rifle was shared by hundreds.
His emotional parents had launched frantic appeals and a rage of responses were witnessed on social networking sites, with many advising him to return to his family.
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