Policemen may have helped attack on Sagar’s escort
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, June 20: The premier intelligence agency of the country, Intelligence Bureau (IB), is assisting the Jammu and Kashmir Police in conducting investigation into the Police-militant nexus in the State that was exposed last week and their involvement in attack on the escort of Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar last year can’t be ruled out.
Highly placed sources told Excelsior that the four policemen, who have been arrested for militant links, were under scanner for past few months. There were allegations of extortion against these four police men for past few years but they were being shielded because of their role in under cover operations.
Sources said that investigators are questioning the four arrested police men regarding the attacks in Srinagar that took place over the last two years and where police and other security agencies have failed to establish their link to any of the militant organizations. These include the assassination attempt on Sagar.
Sagar’s escort was attacked by unidentified gunmen last December outside his ancestral home at sensitive down town. Despite being a high profile attack police and other security agencies failed to trace out the attackers and establish their link with any militant organization.
The other attacks that are being investigated are the attack on Central Reserve Police Force personnel at Rainawari in which 7 CRPF men were injured, grenade attack near Fire and Emergency Service headquarter in which a Assistant Executive Engineer was killed, killing of a National Conference (NC) worker in Batamaloo last year and killing of a police officer Yechpal Singh at Daresh Kadal early this year.
The Investigation into the case is being conducted by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Iftikhar Talib and he is directly reporting to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Srinagar Ashiq Bukhari and Superintendent of Police (SP) Counter Insurgency Kashmir (CIK) Sheikh Junaid.
The information about the police-militant nexus is being shared with the IB on daily basis while premier agency is also sharing their details with the police. The sources said that Union Home Ministry is closely monitoring the investigations into the case as they want to make it sure that no one is spared.
Police-militant nexus surfaced last week during the investigations of the attack on a former militant of Hizbul Mujahideen, Ghulam Hassan Mir alias Shabnam. Shabnam resident of Tral area of South Kashmir was an HM commander who was arrested in 2006 and released in 2007. Shabnam had shifted to Sadarbal area of Srinagar where he had established his business. He was shot at by unidentified gunmen on June 7. During the investigations of attack on him it surfaced that he was not shot at by militants but by the police men who were working for Hizbul Mujahideen.
Police arrested Mohammed Abbas, Riaz Ahmed, Mohammad Ilyas and Mukhtar Ahmad Sheikh and booked them under Section 10 (being member of an unlawful organisation), Section 13 (any form of assistance in unlawful activity) and Section 18 (conspiracy to commit terrorist act) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act at Shergarhi Police Station.
Police later arrested five civilians who had helped in the bid on the life of Shabnam. They have been identified as Shahbaz Ahmad of Rishipora Tral, Bilal Ahmad of Rishipora, Tral, Mohammad Amin alias Amin Battery of Haina Tral, Tauseef Ahmad of Haina, Tral and Riyaz Ahmad of Rishipora.
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