Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Apr 12: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing former militant Liyaqat Shah’s arrest by Delhi Police today questioned his family here.
The six member team questioned his brother Inayat Shah, first wife Ameena Begum and his third wife Akhtar-un-Nisa here at Humhama in Central Kashmir district of Budgam. The NIA team was assisted by the the local police during their questioning.
Sources said that Liyaqat’s family told the NIA team that he had been planning to surrender ever since Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced the rehabilitation policy in 2010, but had to wait because he worked as a labourer in Pakistan and didn’t have enough money to fund his return.
The NIA team had also held discussion with senior local police officers over Liaqat’s return from Pakistan. They also discussed the track record of Liyaqat. Police informed them that he was returning to Valley under rehabilitation policy.
The NIA team is headed by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG), and comprised one Superintendent of Police (SP), one Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), an Inspector and two other officials.
Liyaqat, a resident of Dardpora village of Lolab, was arrested by Delhi Police’s Special Cell from the Sanauli check-post on India-Nepal border near Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh on March 20.
The Delhi Police claimed it had busted a terror module by arresting Liaquat who, they said, had entered India to orchestrate multiple Fidayeen attacks around Holi.
However, the J&K Police claimed that the arrested man was a former militant who wanted to surrender. Police had strongly reacted to Liyaqat’s arrest and warned it would affect the State’s rehabilitation policy for militants and force youth toward militancy.
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), after bowing to the pressure from Jammu and Kashmir Government handed over the case of Liyaqat to NIA. The probe agency would look into claims and counter-claims of the Delhi Police and their J&K counterparts over the arrest.
PTI adds from New Delhi:-
Suspected Hizbul militant Liyaqat Shah was today produced in a special NIA court which extended his judicial remand till April 25 after a magisterial court here refused to hear the matter on the grounds that his case has been transferred to National Investigation Agency (NIA).
During the day, Liyaqat was first produced before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Manoj Kumar at Saket district courts here after expiry of his judicial custody in connection with the case in which Delhi police had claimed that he was planning to carry out terror attacks in the national capital.
CMM Kumar refused to hear the matter saying the case has been transferred to the NIA and directed the police to produce him before the special NIA court today itself.
Liyaqat was then produced before the special NIA court at Patiala House court here.
During an in-chamber hearing, District Judge I S Mehta extended his judicial custody till April 25, court sources said, adding that the Judge also directed that trial court’s records, lying before CMM Kumar, be produced before him on the next date of hearing.
While refusing to hear the matter, CMM Kumar asked Liyaqat whether he want to say something.
Liyaqat told the court that he has no idea about the condition of his family members and he wants information about them. The CMM, however, told the policemen accompanying Liyaqat to produce him before the NIA court.
On April 2, NIA was allowed by the court to interrogate Liyaqat, who is presently lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody, in the prison itself till April 30.
With Shah’s arrest generating conflicting versions from Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir police, the Centre had recently transferred the probe in the case to NIA.
While Delhi police has claimed that with Shah’s arrest they had foiled a ‘fidayeen’ (suicide) attack in the capital ahead of Holi, its J-K counterpart insisted that he was one of those who had exfiltrated in 1990s and had returned to India to surrender under the state’s rehabilitation policy.
45-year-old Shah, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, has been quizzed by special cell of Delhi police since March 21.
The police had earlier said that Shah was apprehended on March 20 from the Indo-Nepal border area near Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and had revealed during interrogation that he is a trained militant of banned terror group Hizbul Mujahideen and was settled in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Police had said that in January 2013, Shah and his associate Manzoor, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, were directed by top-ranks of Hizbul to carry out terror attacks in Delhi.
It had said that upon disclosure of the accused, a huge consignment of arms, hand-grenades, explosive material and other incriminating material were recovered from a guest house in Jama Masjid area here. It had said that his associates, including Manzoor are absconding.
Delhi Police said a case was registered under Sections 120 B(criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against Government of India), 121A (conspiracy to commit offences against the State) and 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war) of IPC against them.
According to Delhi police, Shah had planned attacks to avenge the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
J-K police, however, supported the claims of Shah’s family that he was a former militant who had surrendered before SSB on the Nepal border and was in a group returning from PoK under the rehabilitation policy.
The Home Ministry on March 28 issued a notification facilitating the NIA to take over the case related to Shah.
The NIA will now conduct a probe into the circumstances leading to the arrest of Shah.
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