The Delhi Police has refuted the claims of Jammu & Kashmir Police that liaquat Ali Shah, the hardened commander of banned Hizbul- Mujahideen, was coming to surrender before them. There are several questions that need to be answered.
If he was coming to surrender, according to the policy of the State Government, he could have easily taken the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service and could have been escorted by the State police officials. Where was the need for him to take the circuitous route from Karachi to Kathmandu and the road journey from Indo-Nepal borderIJ
The Delhi Police claimed that liaquat Ali’s arrest was made on the basis of meticulous investigations that were carried out to identify the fidayeen who were said to have infiltrated into Delhi.
A senior Delhi Police officer said that there was a specific intelligence input about fidayeen attack in the national Capital between March 18 and March 23. A coordinated investigation was lunched to identify and locate the terrorists who were part of the conspiracy.
The cricket match being played at Feroze Shah Kotla was also on target. Accordingly an operation was launched to check the terrorist module.
Intelligence intercepts suggested that Hizbul and lashkar outfits were behind the sinister design. liaquat was tracked down after surveillance on the sympathisers of lashkar and Hizbul, he said.
“The hue and cry raised by J&K Police is nothing but an after thought. If he was really coming to surrender, what prevented the State Police in sharing the information with Delhi Police and the police forces of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar PradeshIJ Also Jammu & Kashmir never shared this information with the Central Intelligence Agencies, the Delhi Police Official countered when asked about the objections raised by the State police.
liaquat's movements have been checked and his interrogation has revealed the hideous plot that was hatched by Hizbul and lashkar commanders to singe Delhi during the Holi celebrations. The weapons and explosives' material were seized from a guest house in the walled city that was smuggled for carrying out attacks in busy market places of the National Capital.
Raids were being carried out across many States to recover more arms and ammunitions that were reportedly smuggled into Delhi via porous Indo-Nepal border. Sources said on Saturday that two suspects were detained for questioning and more arrests are likely to be made soon.
Meanwhile, in a related development, Delhi Police Special Cell released the CCTV footage of Arafat guest house in Jama Masjid area where liaquat Ali is seen wearing a cap. It proves that he had come to there with other conspirators who were planning terrorist strikes in the city, Special Commissioner of Police, Special Cell, SN Srivastava said.
Srivastava refused to be drawn into the controversy on the claims of J&K Police but said that they were investigating the plot and stand by their side of the story that liaquat Ali Shah was part of the conspiracy and more revelations were to be made as the investigation was still in progress.