Controversial J&K Police Cop Arrested with Top Militant Commander

Srinagar: In a dramatic turn of events, a DySP rank officer of the J&K Police has been apprehended for the first time along with a former cop-turned-militant in South Kashmir’s Kulgam, the police said here on Sunday.

The officer was identified as Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh who was currently posted in the department’s security division. Singh was arrested with two militants including a top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit identified as Sayed Naveed aka Naveed Babu.

Naveed is a wanted militant who headed the militant outfit in volatile Shopian district of South Kashmir.

Naveed, a former constable in the J&K Police, was reportedly involved in a series of civilian killings in the area including the killing of five non-local labourers earlier in October that sent shockwaves across the region.

According to IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar, both Naveed and Singh are currently being interrogated and further investigations are underway following their arrest.

Naveed, who joined militant ranks in 2017, emerged to become the second-in-command after Hizbul top commander Riyaz Naikoo was also instrumental in carrying out attack on apple traders in South Kashmir after the abrogation or Article 370 in August. The apple harvest in the region was discouraged on the directives from Naveed.

IGP Kumar said the trio was arrested on the National Highway between Srinagar and Jammu and were on their way to the national capital.

Singh was embroiled in a controversial counter insurgency operation. The 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru had alleged that Singh was involved in framing him. Guru was later hanged for his involvement in the attack in February 2013.

“Following their arrest, as the news spread, militants in Shopian were able to run away from their hideout. We recovered large amounts of food items from the spot,” Kumar said.

At the same time, the police have also received inputs about the militant presence in Tral area of Pulwama following which an encounter ensued between the security forces and the militants. According to IGP Kumar, three militants—including the most wanted in the area, Umar Fayaz aka Hamad Khan—were all locals of Tral.

Khan had joined Hizb ranks in April 2016 and had been, since then, a key figure in the military operations in the area. At his behest, the Hizb carried out a series of abductions of the family members of police personnel across South Kashmir in 2018.