He knew how to offer prayers in a mosque and recite some verses from the Quran. They called him Adil, but his name was Sandeep Kumar Sharma.
Sharma, a resident of Muzzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, moved to Kashmir in 2012 after he came in contact with a Kashmiri businessman in Patiala, sources in the valley said.
For the last six months, he has been based in Kulgam district, obstensibly working as a welder, but actually looting ATMs.
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The 28-year-old man, who figured in militant chat groups as 'Adil', came close to the Lashker-e-Taiba terror group when he helped terrorists loot several ATMs in the valley.
Soon Sharma had learnt how to offer 'Namaaz' at mosques and recite the 'Kalima', an oath of allegiance to the religion. But he did not convert to Islam, the sources said.
From looting ATMs, he soon moved to joining terrorist operations, they said.
He was a part of the terror group which carried out strikes at the Army at Lower Munda, which led to the death of a personnel, the killing of Achabal SHO Feroz Dar and of five other policemen.
Sharma became close to Bashir Lashker, the Lashker terrorist who was killed recently, after he helped the terror group steal Rs 20 lakh from various ATMs in South Kashmir, the sources said.
He was arrested by the J&K police today after it busted a Lashkar-e-Taiba module.
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