Srinagar: Police on Tuesday claimed to have busted a militant module which was responsible for the recent attacks in Srinagar, which included high profile killing of a retired DSP and attack on a state minister.
Police has also recovered a huge reserve of arms and ammunition.
“We have arrested two persons making claims for militant attacks in Srinagar city over the past one-and-a-half years. One of them is a policeman while another is a released militant,” Inspector General of Police Kashmir S M Sahai told reporters here.
The arrested cop has been identified as Abdul Rashid Shigan working under aliases like Moulvi and Omer Mukhtar. Shingan, a resident of Srinagar’s Batamaloo area, joined the police force as constable in 1998 and was discharged from duties for being involved in militant activities in the past.
“A large quantity of arms and ammunition had been recovered from the residence of Shigan, who working as an over ground worker for militants before getting selected as a trainee constable in 1998. He was discharged from police department while undergoing basic training for his involvement in militant activities and detained under Public Safety Act. However he was reinstated on court,” said Sahai.
The other accused is Imtiyaz Ahmed Gojri, a resident of Nawakadal area of old city Srinagar. IGP said that duo was running a newly formed militant outfit Islamic Front.
The IGP said with the arrest of Shigan and Imtiyaz, all militancy related cases that have taken place in Srinagar city over the past 19 months have been solved.
Sahai said the two were also involved in the recent killing of a DSP and Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar in December last year in which a policeman was killed and three others were injured
Police said that the duo was guilty of bombarding an army camp and the Civil Secretariat in the city. They had also carried out an attack on a religious leader, Peer Jalal-ud-Din and two National Conference leaders in the recent months
Zahid Maqbool is a freelance journalist based in Srinagar.
