The police on Tuesday arrested the main accused involved in the killing of two labourers from Punjab in Srinagar.

The police said the accused was radicalised by a Pakistani handler through social media and provided him weapon to carry out the attack. The police said the attacker had no previous record of the crime.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) VK Birdi said on February 7, labourers — Amrit Pal and Rohit — were going towards their rented accommodation in Srinagar’s Shaheed Gunj area when they were attacked. While Amrit Pal (31) died on the spot, Rohit (25) succumbed a day later at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences.

The IGP said: “Based on compelling evidence gathered during these investigations, the police rounded up several suspects. Simultaneously, the prime suspect, Adil Manzoor Langoo, from Zaldagar, Srinagar, was arrested.”

Langoo had colluded with a handler based in Pakistan, who instructed him to carry out a terrorist attack in Srinagar. The weapon used in the attack was supplied by the handler.

The weapon used in the attack has been recovered, the police said.

It came to fore that the accused had conspired with his handler across in Pakistan for commission of the terror crime. The accused was a highly motivated and radicalised individual, the IGP said. His handler in Pakistan radicalised him on social media and motivated him to carry out the terror attack, the IGP said. He said the handler provided him the weapon after which he motivated him to carry out the attack.

The IGP said Central Kashmir Range DIG has constituted a SIT headed by SP South for investigating the case.

The police said any handler involved in such kind of acts, will be brought to the book. Even if they are in Pakistan, the ADGP Law and Order Vijay Kumar said. The ADGP said the module was busted very quickly and soon after the incident. The police said probe into the killing of Jammu and Kashmir Police inspector Masroor Ahmad Wani has already been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Wani, who was killed while playing cricket in Srinagar in October last year, died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi in December.

The case has been given to the NIA, Kumar said. He said those involved in the killing will be soon brought to justice. He said there are 25 active militants in Kashmir.

Courtesy: The Tribune India: 14th Feb , 2024