MILITANT INVOLVED IN GRENADE ATTACK KILLED IN VALLEY

SRINAGAR: Showkat Ahmad Bhat, a Tehreek-ul-mujahideen (TUM) militant involved in a grenade attack in which three police personnel were injured in Baramulla district was killed on Thursday in a gunfight with security forces in Pulwama district. J&K police said Bhat’s accomplice, a Class 11 student, was arrested. Police said Bhat and his accomplice had joined militancy in the first week of this month and had posted their pictures on social media with weapons. A police spokesman said arms and ammunition was recovered from Bhat. “He was an active militant of Tahreek-ul-mujahideen militant group and was wanted in Pattan grenade incident,” the spokesman added. Baramulla senior superintendent of police (SSP) Imtiaz Hussain said Bhat was planning to reach South Kashmir when he was intercepted.

CBI takes over probe into fake arms licence racket

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over probe into issuance of thousands of arms licences on the basis of forged documents in some of the of districts of Jammu and Kashmir between 2012 and 2016. “The agency has re-registered two FIRS in this connection,” said a CBI official on the condition of anonymity. The racket was busted by the Rajasthan police’s anti-terrorism squad in 2017. The Jammu and Kashmir’s government’s vigilance department too was looking into the large number of arms licenses in the state, particularly in the districts close to the Line of Control (LOC), the de-facto border between India and Pakistan, as it could have ramifications on the security scenario in the state.