Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Oct 9: Few days after the militants targeted Wullar barrage in the Kashmir Valley, police have come across with sensational revelations made by three militants including a woman from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), who had returned from Pakistan via Nepal, that they had been plotting to target prestigious Baglihar hydro-electric power project at Chanderkoot in Ramban district.
Like Wullar Flood Protection Works and Conservation of Wullar Lake Project, Baglihar had long remained bone of contention between India and Pakistan with latter taking the project to International Court of Arbitration but finally losing the battle.
Baglihar project is one of the highly protected power project.
Official sources here told the Excelsior that three militants, who have been charged with plot to target Baglihar project, were Ghulam Ali alias Muzammil son of Ghulam Qadir Gujjar R/o Khwara Kheri, Banihal, Seeraj Ahmad alias Shakeer son of Mohammad Abdullah Wani R/o Darpora, Shopian and Faizal wife of Seeraj Ahmad and daughter of Haider Jamaan, originally a resident of Jamaan Chanka in Mansera area of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), presently putting up at Shopian with Shakeer.
They have been charged under Sections 120-B RPC, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 3 Enemy Agent Ordinance and other provisions of law. A challan against them was produced today.
Sources said police had secured approval of the State Home Department for producing challan against the accused as the Government sanction was mandatory for various Sections imposed on all three accused.
The plot to target Baglihar project was hatched in PoK by top Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander Abu Faraar with the help of Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). All three militants including the PoK woman had been sent to India with the purpose of executing the plot along with their other associates. They had been assured that some officials posted in Baglihar project would also assist them.
Sources said all three including Muzammil, Shakeer and Faizal were provided with passports and visa to fly to Kathmandu in Nepal from Karachi in Pakistan by the Army and ISI officials. On reaching Kathmandu, the militants traveled to Uttar Pradesh from Nepal border and boarded a train to reach Jammu Railway Station, where they were arrested by a team of Shopian police, which had developed prior information of the militants’ movement.
All of them were taken to Shopian and subjected to sustained interrogation, where they revealed that they were part of the plot to target Baglihar hydro-electric power project. Shopian police later shared the information with Ramban police and accordingly all three were booked on the charges of the conspiracy to target the project.
Sources said that even in the year 2009, police had registered a FIR against some unnamed persons after it had come across credible inputs that militants were planning to target Baglihar project. Police had arrested some suspects then but let off them as they were not connected to the plot.
Sources said it was chance questioning of three militants, who had returned from Pakistan, that they narrated the entire plot to target Baglihar project, which had been hatched in PoK by the LeT commander Abu Faraar in connivance with some officials of Pakistan Army and ISI.
The aim of the militants was to sabotage Baglihar as Pakistan had failed to block the project despite taking the issue to International Court of Arbitration. Sources said the Pakistani police has, however, been foiled.
According to sources, some militants based in Kashmir were supposed to help the trio in executing the Pakistani plot of targeting Baglihar power project.
Few days back, the militants had targeted Wullar barrage in the Kashmir Valley. This project has also been objected to by Pakistan Government on the ground that it was violation of Indus Water Treaty.
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