Senior J-K Police Officer Detained In Car With Top Hizbul, Lashkar Terrorists

A deputy superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir police was detained in a car along with two Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashker-e-Taiba terrorists in south Kashmir, officials said on Saturday night. Davinder Singh, who is presently posted as the deputy superintendent of police at the airport, was detained along with the top commander of Lashker-e-Taiba  Naveed Babu and Altaf of Hizbul Mujahideen, they said.

The officials said that the police officer is alleged to have been ferrying the militants from Shopian area, possibly out of the valley.

Deputy Inspector General of South Kashmir Atul Goyal was supervising the operation and caught the car at a police barricade at Mir Bazar in Kulgam of South Kashmir.

The DIG, according to the eyewitness, lost his cool at the DySP.

Two AK rifles were seized from the car. A search was conducted at his residence and the police allegedly seized two pistols and one AK rifle, the officials said.

Senior police officials termed the DySP’s involvement unfortunate.

Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh did not respond to repeated attempts to seek comments from him on the issue.

Earlier this month, security forces arrested Nisar Ahmad Dar, a most wanted terrorist affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit, from Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar. Arms and ammunition were also recovered from his possession.

This comes at least two weeks after a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Saddam Mir was arrested during a search operation in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir.

On December 22 last year, Rayees Lone, another terrorist linked with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal. Rayees was involved in supporting and assisting active terrorists in the area.

Terror alert in Kashmir

With an aim to prevent the normalcy from returning Kashmir, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) are preparing for terror strikes this winter, latest intelligence reports have warned. Tensions are high in Kashmir after New Delhi on August 5 announced abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and decided to bifurcate the state into Union territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh - hours after Kashmir was placed under a total clampdown.