J& K jail official held over terror links

A senior jail official among two persons arrested by National Investigation Agency ( NIA) for allegedly motivating Kashmiri youth for crossing over to Pakistan- occupiedKashmir ( PoK) for receiving arms training was on Wednesday sent to the agency’s custody for six days by a special court in Jammu.

The accused Deputy Superintendent of Jail Feroz Ahmed Lone was earlier on Tuesday arrested by the NIA from Amphalla jail in Jammu. He was taken into custody following “disclosures’ by a militant Ishaq Palla arrested by the NIA earlier.

Pala is a resident of Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district who has reportedly confessed to recruiting youth into a militant outfit and sending them to PoK “in a prelude to waging war against India” in connivance with the jail official.

The NIA said that the case pertains to an attempt by two Kashmiri youth Suhail Ahmad Bhat and Danish Ghulam Lone to cross over to PoK for arms training for “waging war against the State”. The duo, it said, was allegedly motivated by Palla, when he was lodged at Srinagar’s Central Jail in connection with a different case. “He was instrumental in hatching the conspiracy from the jail and in this he was actively assisted by Lone who was posted as deputy superintendent there,” the agency said.

It added that the accused persons were in contact with each other through blackberry messenger. Palla was remanded to 10 days’ NIA custody by the Special NIA court Jammu earlier.