SRINAGAR: Davinder Singh, the tainted Jammu and Kashmir deputy superintendent of police, two Hizbul Mujahideen militants and their two alleged over-ground workers were on Thursday sent to 15 days National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody by a special court in winter capital Jammu.
Singh and top Hizb commander Syed Naveed Mushtaq alias Naveed Babu alias Babar Azam and his accomplice, Asif Ahmed Rather, were arrested by the J&K police on January 11 while they were travelling to Delhi in a private car.
The police also arrested a local lawyer Irfan Shafi Mir and Naveed Babu’s brother Syed Irfan Ahmed on charge of being over-ground workers of militants.
A brief statement issued by the NIA said, “Today, five arrested accused, namely Devinder Singh, Syed Naveed Mushtaq Shah, Irfan Shafi Mir, Rafi Ahmad Rather and Syed Irfan Ahmad, in case RC-1/2020/NIA/Jammu, were produced before the NIA special court at Jammu. The court has granted 15 days’ custody of the accu-sed to NIA till 06.02.2020”.
Singh and others were earlier during the day on Thursday produced before the special court by the NIA which began probe after registering a case in connection with the arrest of the police officer after it was instructed by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) on January 16. The NIA had on Wednesday quizzed Singh for allegedly helping militants travel out of the Valley and also conducted searches at his residence in Srinagar’s high-security Indira Nagar. The NIA had taken Singh and other accused to Jammu from here on Wednesday.
Singh, who was posted as deputy superintendent in the anti-hijacking squad at the Srinagar International Airport, and the militant duo were arrested by a police party headed by an officer of IGP’s rank. The police was tracking Naveed Babu’s movements and his location was traced after he made a phone call to his brother Syed Irfan who was arrested by the NIA earlier this week.
Since placed under suspension, Singh is the same police officer about whom Parliament attack convict Muhammad Afzal Guru had claimed that he had asked him to take a co-accused Muhammad to Delhi and arrange for his stay in the national capital.
