Three militant associates of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) were arrested in connection with an attack on a BJP leader in Ganderbal district last month, the police said on Monday.

Militants had attacked the BJP’s district vice-president Ghulam Qadir at Nunner in the central Kashmir district on October 6. However, he survived the attack. A militant was killed on the spot in a retaliatory fire, while a police constable, Mohammad Altaf, also lost his life.

The police had registered a case and investigations were taken up, a police official said.

He said during investigation, the involvement of a person, identified as Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of the Serch area of the district and working as a hospital security guard, was revealed.

However, the official said, Sheikh tried to dodge the investigating officers upon questioning and technical details were sought through the electronic surveillance unit which revealed some “startling facts”.

Sustained questioning of the subject revealed he was an active member of the HM and had been instrumental in the attack, the official said.

Accordingly, Sheikh was arrested and on his disclosure, a pistol, a pistol magazine with three rounds and some Pakistani flags were recovered by the police, he said.

Sheikh also disclosed the names of two other militant associates — Hilal Ahmad Mir of Bernbugh Kangan working as an ATM guard at SKIMS, and Asif Ahmad Mir of Serch, a private security guard at the SMHS, the official said, adding they, too, were arrested.

He said the police recovered a Chinese pistol and ammunition, two detonators, Pakistani flags and other incriminating material at their instance. “All the three had come in contact with terror operatives in south Kashmir and were tasked to prepare a kill list of local political workers and attack them,” the official said, adding further investigation in the case was going on and more arrests were expected. — PTI

Courtesy: Daily Tribune: 3rd November 2020