Within hours of the killing of a CRPF man in Shopian district, the police arrested the assailant and recovered the weapon used in the crime on Sunday. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, said an overground worker had also been arrested in connection with the case.

The terrorists had shot dead off-duty CRPF jawan Mukhtar Ahmad at his home in the Check Chotipora area of Shopian in south Kashmir on Saturday evening.

“We have arrested the killer. The weapon (pistol) used in the offence has been recovered on his disclosure. An overground worker, who accompanied him during the terror crime, has also been arrested,” the IGP said in a tweet. He said the crime was committed on the directions of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander Abid Ramzan Sheikh.

In a statement later, a police spokesperson identified the assailant as Rukhsar Sadiq Thoker, a resident of Rangmarg-Sedow and an active terrorist. The weapon of offence — a pistol — was also seized from his possession.

“During the course of investigation, he (Thoker) disclosed the identity of another terrorist associate who facilitated him in the commission of the crime. He (the terrorist associate) has been identified as Amir Ahmad Dewan, a resident of Bohrihallan in Shopian, who too was arrested and on his disclosure, a motorcycle used in the commission of the crime was seized,” the spokesperson said.

During further questioning, Thoker confessed that he was a close associate of Sheikh, the self-styled commander of the LeT and a hybrid terrorist of the said organisation.

“Furthermore, he revealed that he, along with his associate, had committed the crime on Sheikh's directions in order to create an atmosphere of terror in the area,” the spokesperson said. Investigation in the case is going on and further leads are expected, he added. — PTI

Courtesy: The Tribune India: 13th March , 2022