Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 13: Disclosures made by a recently arrested militant of Hizbul Mujahideen in Pathankot district of Punjab have stunned security agencies as the militant revealed that some of the outfits in the Kashmir Valley were getting supply of weapons from the gangsters based in Bihar including sophisticated pistols and revolvers, which were being used in firing at the security personnel from point blank range.
The militant-Ravish-ul-Islam, a resident of Pulwama-is reported to have made the important disclosures before Railways Police, Pathankot, which had arrested him from Sealdah Express at Chakki Bank railway station on Sunday, when he was travelling from Patna, the capital of Bihar to Jammu on way to the Kashmir Valley.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Ravish-ul-Islam, who was a Graduate and a computer expert hailing from Lidder, New Colony, Lassipora of Pulwama, has confessed before the Railways Police in Pathankot during his eight days police remand, that the Kashmir militants including those of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit had established links with the gangsters in Bihar from where their couriers were purchasing weapons and ammunition and smuggling them to the Valley.
Police said they were not ruling out the nexus between Kashmir militants and Indian Mujahideen as they suspected that the gangsters of Bihar supplying weapons to the Hizbul Mujahideen and other such outfits could be part of the IM module, which has strong roots in Bihar and was responsible for serial blasts at Bodh Gaya and attack on BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s rally at Patna.
Hitherto, there had been no report of a nexus between any outfits of the Kashmir Valley with the Indian Mujahideen or the latter’s presence in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said Ravish had been smuggling two pistols along with ammunition from Bihar to Kashmir for supplying them to Hizbul Mujahideen outfit. He has admitted before police that he had earlier also successfully made one trip from Bihar to Kashmir and supplied the weapons to the militants.
“Though Ravish had admitted only one successful trip from Patna to Kashmir, we are not ruling out that he could be instrumental in more such attempts and, for the purpose, his sustained interrogation was on,” sources said noting that Pathankot police had yesterday taken Ravish on eight days police remand for questioning.
Sources said since Ravish hailed from Pulwama, Kashmir police was likely to seek his custody from Pathankot police after the latter completes his questioning to ascertain the link between Kashmir militants and Bihar based gangsters, where several illegal factories engaged in making weapons were being run clandestinely.
A five members joint team of Jammu and Pathankot police have already left for Patna to identify the persons from whom Ravish-ul-Islam had purchased pistols for the Kashmir militants. Several Central and State Intelligence agencies have already joined questioning of Ravish as it was for the first time that a nexus between Kashmir militants and Bihar underworld dons has surfaced.
Sources said the Kashmir militants were running short of weaponry due to blockade of infiltration routes along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir due to fencing and alertness of the security personnel.
“The infiltration by the militants has been made virtually impossible. The militants, who were managing to sneak-in in the Valley were bringing with them the weaponry required by them. The militants trained locally by the outfits had no weapons for them,” sources said, adding it was in view of this fact that the Kashmiri militants had developed links in Bihar, possibly with the help of Indian Mujahideen to procure weapons.
Worthwhile to mention here that during past couple of years, a series of incidents had been reported in the Kashmir Valley where in the militants had shot at police and para-military personnel from point blank range using pistols and revolvers.
Sources said further interrogation of Ravish-ul-Islam was on and police was expecting to get major breakthrough in Kashmir militants-Indian Mujahideen nexus or militants-Bihar underworld don links.
Pathankot police had arrested Ravish-ul-Islam from Sealdah Express on Sunday at Chakki Bank police station. He had boarded the train at Patna for Jammu and had to cover Jammu-Srinagar distance in TATA Sumo.
Though Pathankot police had said that Ravish was arrested during routine checking of the train, sources said Railways Police of Pathankot had specific input about movement of the militant.
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