Prisons chief killed in Kashmir, servant held
SRINAGAR: The prisons chief in Kashmir has been killed, officials said on Tuesday, as Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in the region on a three-day visit.
The body of Director-general of Prisons Hemant Kumar Lohia bore multiple wounds and was found on Monday night at his friend’s home in the southern city of Jammu where he was visiting, police said.
An initial probe suggested that Lohia’s household helper Yasir Ahmed, was behind the killing, senior police officer Mukesh Singh told reporters.
Police on Tuesday apprehended Ahmed and began interrogating him.
Singh said Lohia’s throat had been cut and his body bore burns. The initial investigation suggested it was not a “terror act” but police were investigating, he said.
He said the suspect had fled the scene. Earlier, the police released the photographs of Ahmed and put out phone numbers for sharing any information about him.
“In the initial investigation into the incident of death of DG Prisons, HK Lohia, it has come to fore that one domestic helper Yasir Ahmed resident of Ramban is the main accused,” police said.
“Some CCTV footage collected from the incident site also shows the suspected accused running away ater commission of this crime.”
Police said Ahmed was working in this house for nearly six months, and added that initial investigation also revealed that he was quite aggressive in his behaviour and was under depression.
“So far no terror act is apparent as per initial investigation, but thorough probe is on to rule out any possibility. The weapon of offence has been seized besides some documentary evidence reflecting his mental state,” police said.
Lohia was an IPS officer of 1992 batch and was a native of Assam.
A militant group, the People’s Anti-fascist Front (PAFF), claimed responsibility in a statement on social media.
The PAFF statement said the killing was a “small git” to Shah, who arrived in the region on Monday. The rebel group’s statement could not be independently verified.
Security officials have blamed groups like PAFF for many killings of police and civilians, but militants have not killed a high-profile official such as Lohia in recent years.
“This is just a beginning of such high-profile operations,” the PAFF statement said.