In a major crackdown on elements behind terror activities in Kashmir Valley, the National Investigation Agency on Monday arrested seven separatist leaders who received funding from Pakistan, while in a separate move, police apprehended 20 people allegedly involved in the lynching of Deputy Superintendent of Police (Security Wing) Mohammad Ayub Pandith outside Jamia Masjid, in Srinagar last month.
Inspector General of Police Muneer Khan did not rule out the possibility of questioning senior separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who heads the Jamia Masjid’s management and delivers sermons there.
Those arrested by the NIA include Altaf Ahmed Shah, the son-in-law of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The NIA is probing the funding of terror and subversive activities in the Kashmir valley, officials said.
Altaf Ahmed Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, was in the custody of the Jammu & Kashmir Police, who had put him in preventive detention immediately after Eid earlier this month.
Besides him, Geelani’s close aides Tehreek-e-Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar and Peer Saifullah were arrested by the NIA from the Valley, officials engaged in the operation said. The NIA also arrested Shahid-ul-Islam, spokesman of the moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
The others arrested are Mehrajuddin Kalwal and Nayeem Khan (of the Hurriyat’s Geelani faction) and Farooq Ahmed Dar, alias ‘Bitta Karate’, they said. The houses of those arrested had been raided by NIA sleuths last month.
Shah is perceived as an influential force in the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.
Meanwhile, the IGP said the investigations in the lynching of the DSP is going on and more arrests were expected in the near future.
“We have arrested 20 accused in the case so far. Another accused, Sajad Ahmad Gilkar, was killed in an encounter in Budgam on July 12,” Khan said.
In the wee hours of June 23, Pandith was lynched by a mob that was raising slogans in favour of terrorist Zakir Musa while waiting for the arrival of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was scheduled to deliver a religious lecture.
Pandith was on duty at the Jamia Masjid during lailatul Qadr, considered to be a sacred night in the month of Ramzan when Muslims engage in prayers throughout the night.
Khan said that the officer was spotted by the assailants while checking the security personnel deployed for access control duties of the Jamia Masjid.
The DSP, who was in civil clothes started shooting a video of the pro-Pakistan and pro- Zakir Musa sloganeering. Accusing him of being a spy of the Indian security forces the mob pounced on him. Pandith tried to escape by firing shots from his service pistol, leaving three people injured. But he was overpowered, stripped, hit with stones, sharp weapons and logs till he died.
The incident evoked widespread condemnation.
Khan said police have constituted a Special Investigation Team headed by Superintendent of Police (North), Sajad Shah for a speedy probe into the lynching case. Sources said that most of the arrested people have stone pelting cases registered against them. All except one belong to the old parts of Srinagar City.
Khan said that the help of locals and leads provided by them led to the arrest of the accused people.
“With the help of information provided by the locals, we were able to arrest the four main accused who later led to the arrest of others. We have also recovered the iron rod used to beat Pandith. A damaged service pistol, his identity car and his cellphone have also been recovered,” Khan said. He appreciated the civil society for coming out and voicing resentment against the incident.
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