Senior Jammu and Kashmir police officer Davinder Singh was suspended on Monday, 13 January, as it emerged that he had sheltered three terrorists at his residence in Srinagar, right next to the Army's XV corps headquarters at Badami Bagh cantonment, officials said, PTI reported.
Singh, who has been arrested, was the Deputy Superintendent of Police, formerly with the Special Operations Group and was also awarded the President’s Medal for bravery on 15 August in 2019.
Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar said it was a “heinous crime”and Singh was being treated at par with the terrorists and jointly interrogated by all security agencies.
Singh, continued to be grilled by a team of police and intelligence investigators. His office at Srinagar airport, where he was posted as deputy superintendent of police in the anti-hijacking squad, was sealed, officials said.
Piecing together the chain of events, the officials said the two terrorists — self-styled district commander of banned Hizbul Mujahideen, Naveed Baba, and Altaf — were taken to the officer's home on Friday by a lawyer Irfan, who the police said was an overground worker for terror groups.
Earlier, Kumar had said that after the news about their detention on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in south Kashmir on Saturday spread, some militants escaped from a hideout in Shopian.
One of the arrested militants Naveed, who was a police constable and deserted the force in 2017 to join the Hizbul Mujahideen, has been involved in cases of killing of police personnel and civilians, the IGP told a press conference.
He was detained along with the top commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba Naveed Babu and Altaf of Hizbul Mujahideen, the police said.
Officials said that the police officer is alleged to have been ferrying the militants from Shopian area, possibly out of the Valley.
Two AK rifles were seized from the car. A search was conducted at his residence and the police allegedly seized two pistols and another AK rifle, officials said. Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh did not respond to repeated attempts to seek comments from him on the issue.
The Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar said, “Singh has worked on several anti-militancy operations. But the circumstances under which he was arrested yesterday when he was driving the car with militants towards Jammu is a heinous crime. That is why he is being treated at par with the militants.”
“He has been properly arrested, has been brought under remand and his interrogation is on. The investigation is at an initial stage and I cannot share anything further. The investigation is on and we have got several leads which we will not like to share as the operation is on. When this news spread yesterday, some militants escaped from a hideout in Shopian. The hideout was eight feet under the ground which had food items among other things stored there,” he added.
Who is DSP Davinder Singh?
DSP Singh was posted at the Srinagar International Airport. He was reportedly caught with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Naveed Babu, who's allegedly involved in killing 11 non-local workers in October-November 2019, according to a NDTV report. Singh is also reported to be in the anti-hijacking squad of J&K Police.
Singh had reportedly also applied for leave from work. In 2013, Afzal Guru, the convict in 2001 Parliament terror attack had claimed that Singh had asked him to accompany an accused involved in the attack to Delhi and arrange his stay in the city, reports NDTV.
However, speaking at a press conference, IGP J&K Police said he had no “record” of Singh being linked to the 2013 Parliament attack.
How the Operation Took Place
Giving details of Saturday's operation, Kumar said the Shopian Superintendent of Police had got a specific intelligence input that two militants were travelling in a vehicle on the national highway towards Jammu.
"The SP Shopian informed me and I directed DIG south Kashmir and a naka was laid. The car was searched and two wanted militants were there. A deputy superintendent of police was also there along with a resident who is an advocate and a listed OGW (overground worker) in our records,” he said, reports PTI.
The IGP said the militants and the police officer were interrogated by the police and then all agencies, including intelligence agencies IB and RAW, working in the Valley.
“I called all the security forces and agencies for a joint interrogation which is still going on. One of the militants has been identified as a top commander Naveed who was a police constable in 2017 and had decamped with four rifles from Budgam. He has been involved in police and civilian killings and threatening orchardists. 17 FIRs have been registered against him. He is the district commander of Shopian and 2IC of HM commander Riyaz Naikoo,” Kumar said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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