Centre to reply on plea to shift LeT terrorist

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre on a plea filed by Jammu and Kashmir seeking directions to shift Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Zahid Farooq from Jammu jail to Delhi’s Tihar Jail on grounds of intelligence inputs about him “indoctrinating Indian inmates” lodged in the prison.

A bench of Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice MR Shah on Friday sought a response from the Centre within four weeks on the plea.

J&K also sought to shift trial against Farooq to the national capital. Farooq was arrested by security forces when he was trying to cross border security fence on May 19, 2016.

The state said transporting Farooq to court and back to the jail poses a threat to escorting policemen and common public and sought shifting of the trial to Delhi.

The petition of the state said that transfer of Farooq from Jammu jail to a high security prison outside the state is in the interest of national security, as the state has received confidential intelligence inputs that “he poses a threat to national security in as much as his involvement in planning and designing terror attacks against the citizens/residents in India cannot be ruled out”.

It added that foreign prisoners like Farooq are “radicalising and brainwashing local Kashmiri youth” in prison.