Separatist leaders
On Sunday, he said that “the sacrifice made by 40 CRPF men in recent Pulwama attack will not go in vain”, and reiterated the government’s position that the Indian Army was given a free hand to punish the perpetrators. The police will review if there are any other separatists who have security or facilities, and they will be withdrawn immediately.
A Hurriyat statement dismissed the significance of the government’s decision. “With or without these police personnel at Hurriyat residence, all remains the same. Whenever the issue has been made centre stage, Mirwaiz has repeatedly said from the pulpit of Jamia Masjid that the government can withdraw it.”
The Mirwaiz was provided protection after his father was assassinated in 1990.
Forty CRPF jawans were killed on Thursday when a convoy of 78 vehicles was targeted on thehighwaybetweenjammuand Srinagar. Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-mohammed (JEM) claimed responsibility for the attack and released a video of the suspected attacker, which it identified as a 22-year-old local, Adil Ahmad Dar.
Speaking at an event in Bihar’s Begusarai on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “To the people who have gathered here, I would like to say the fire that is raging in your hearts [over the attack], is in my heart too.” At a separate event, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah said the sacrifices of the jawans will not go in vain as “there is no Congress government at the Centre”. “It is the BJP government and the Narendra Modi government will not compromise on any security issue,” he added.
Thursday’s attack has triggered widespread anger across the country, with street protests demanding military action against Pakistan. Curfew in Jammu continued for the third day on Sunday as the area remained tense after demonstrations on the Jammu-pathankot national highway on Friday.
In New Delhi, people burned effigies of Pakistani and JEM leaders while attacks on Kashmiris were reported in different states. The home ministry has ordered increased security measures for Kashmiris following reports of mob attacks.
The state government, in consultation with the Centre, provided the separatists ad hoc security, keeping in mind the threat to their lives from some militant groups.
Joint Resistance Leader Farooq, Bhat and Lone are part of the moderate faction of All Parties Hurriyat Conference. In 2004, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government held talks with these leaders over the Kashmir issue.
Shabir Shah, who is currently in Delhi’s Tihar Jail over allegations of financing terrorist activities, heads the Democratic Free- dom Party and is part of the hardline Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Geelani.
Geelani does not have any security from the government and has been under house intermittently since 2010. Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik has also not been provided any security cover.
While a government spokesperson earlier said that the security cover of five separatists was being withdrawn, an order by the Jammu and Kashmir home department issued later mentioned only four names. Hashim Qureshi, whose name was left out in the order after the government statement, hijacked an Indian Airlines plane in 1971 and was jailed for it in Pakistan. He later sought asylum in the Netherlands and then returned to India in 2000.
Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad welcomed the decision to withdraw the security of the separatist leaders. “These Hurriyat leaders talk to Pakistan and receive funding from various places. The most painful thing is that they get security from the central government and the Jammu and Kashmir government. India will not allow any step taken towards separating Kashmir from the country,” he said. lacking adequate safety mechanisms, effectively shutting them down for at least 15 days.
The police also told the court that the hotel administration did not take identity proofs of the eight people from Myanmar who were at the hotel when the blaze began. Three of them were killed in the fire.
The crime branch earlier issued a lookout circular against Goel after determining that he was not in the country. “Rakesh was in Qatar to attend a wedding. As soon as he boarded an Indigo flight to arrive in Delhi, we alerted the immigration officials. They detained him around 7pm at the Delhi airport and handed him over to us. We questioned him briefly before arresting him around 11.15pm,” said the DCP, adding that Goel was aware of his impending arrest.
The DCP said that substantial evidence has been collected during multiple visits to the hotel. “For the investigation, we used a new technology known as 3D imaging. It is a forensic tool that will help us reconstruct the crime scene and find evidences even at a later stage of our investigation,” said the DCP.
Since a major portion of the building was destroyed in the fire, the DCP said that there were chances of overlooking some minute but crucial pieces of evidence during the visits. “The 3D imaging technology will help us appreciate that evidence later,” said DCP Deo. the trap cameras from some places where they operate.