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However, about two decades ago, he didn’t want to be associated with terror activities; he had given up the gun and fled Kashmir valley.
Guru’s association with militancy started in 1990, when he was a first-year student in a medical college in Srinagar. Guru’s family owned a medical store in Sopore, Kashmir’s financial capital. Then, Kashmir valley was in turmoil and many youngsters were being drawn to the gun. Guru dropped out of college and joined the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front .
Senior officials in intelligence agencies believe after Guru joined JKLF, he was sent to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to be trained in the use of small arms and assault rifles. Police say, in his statement, he confessed he was trained in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. This couldn’t be independently verified.
When Guru returned to Kashmir, he was asked by his ‘handlers’ to go to Anantnag and carry out attacks against the army and police. However, after a few months in Anantnag and Sopore, Guru was disenchanted with the gun, as he was often asked to extort money from rich businessmen in Sopore. Because of his growing disillusionment with militancy, his fellow militants alleged he had become a Jammu and Kashmir police informer. (War against nation leads to the gallows)
Fearing for his life, Guru fled Kashmir and came to Delhi. Though he now wanted to lead a peaceful life in the capital, this wasn’t easy for him — there was no source of income. Senior intelligence officials believe Guru started acting as a courier, transferring money from Delhi. They add he provided logistical support to members of the banned JKLF.
It was at this time Guru met Tariq, who worked for Gazi Baba, a former member of the Pakistani army who had allegedly left his job to join the struggle in Kashmir.
In August 2003, two years after the Parliament attack, Gazi Baba was killed in an encounter in Srinagar.
Members of security agencies said Guru had provided support to the five terrorists who had come from Kashmir to carry out the Parliament attack. He had provided shelter to the militants, as well as the car used in the attack. Also, explosives were hidden in his house. When the police arrested him in Delhi, Rs 10 lakh was allegedly recovered from his house.
