NIA takes over probe against J&K cop

DSP Davinder Singh, caught with Hizbul militants, to be brought to Delhi

NEWDELHI/SRINAGAR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday took over the probe against suspended Jammu and Kashmir police officer Davinder Singh, who was arrested for alleged ties with militants, and will likely bring him to the Capital soon for questioning, officials said.

Singh, a decorated deputy superintendent of police (DSP) with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, was arrested last week after the police intercepted a car on the national highway and found him travelling with two militants and their alleged aide. Singh was suspended on Monday and his office at the Srinagar airport, where he was posted as DSP in the anti-hijacking squad, was sealed.

On Saturday, the NIA said: “After receiving MHA’s order, NIA has re-registered this case as RC no 01/2020/NIA and started the investigation.” The move came after the Union home ministry instructed the agency to investigate his alleged links with terrorist groups.

An NIA team has been questioning Singh in Kashmir over the past week jointly with the J&K Police, Intelligence Bureau and other central agencies.

An NIA officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the agency will examine Singh’s role in other cases pertaining to the

capture of terrorists and overground workers in the Valley over the years in districts where he was posted.

The two terrorists arrested with Singh were identified as Hizbul Mujahedeen members Naveed Babu and Altaf. Babu is accused of being involved in the killing of 11 non-local workers, including truck drivers and labourers in south Kashmir last year. The police also arrested a lawyer from Shopian, identified as Irfan, who was travelling with them. Preliminary investigations indicated the two alleged terrorists stayed at Singh’s house in Srinagar’s Indra Nagar for about two days.

“Naveed Babu is a dangerous terrorist who is behind killing of labourers and several police officers/special police officers in J&K. We will investigate since when he was in touch with Naveed or other terrorists or if he passed off any sensitive information which may have helped the terrorists,” the officer added. He said Singh could soon be brought to Delhi for further questioning.

The preliminary probe has indicated that this was not the first time that Singh escorted the two terrorists through the counter-insurgency grid in Kashmir valley. As first reported by Hindustan Times, Singh will also be probed in the 2001 Parliament attack case on the basis of a letter written by Afzal Guru in 2013.

On Wednesday, the Jammu and Kashmir administration stripped Singh of the Sher-eKashmir Police medal for gallantry. According to an official order, the officer’s act amounted to disloyalty and brought the force into disrepute.

An official in J&K said Singh is believed to have taken ~12 lakh

for smuggling the two terrorists to Chandigarh for providing them accommodation for a couple of months. The official, who has been involved in Singh’s questioning and spoke on condition of anonymity, said there have been many inconsistencies in his statements and everything was being crosschecked and corroborated with the confessions of captured terrorists who have been kept in different rooms at an interrogation centre in South Kashmir.

Investigators have previously said Singh claimed he was working on a plan to eliminate top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo when he was arrested, but could provide no proof to support his assertion.

An AK-47 rifle, two pistols, two grenades and lakhs of rupees were recovered from Singh’s residence, according to an official.