Kashmir militants pay tribute to Wani Pandith lynching case cracked: Cops
SPLIT WIDE OPEN Differences between terrorists out in the open as they outline their goals
The divide among the militants in the Valley laid bare on Thursday — two days before the first death anniversary of the outfit’s commander Burhan Wani.
The 22-year-old was killed in a gunbattle with the Jammu and Kashmir police last year.
In an audio message released on social media, Zakir Musa, the leader of the breakaway faction, hailed “martyr Burhan” as the one responsible for his own “understanding of Shariah”, and spoke of bringing the “Islamic Caliphate in Kashmir” — for the “establishment” of which, he claimed, Burhan gave his life.
“He was never a follower of tanzeem (group), and always wanted the superiority of Islam. He once again taught the chapter of Jihad to Kashmiri Muslims,” Musa said in his message.
Another five-minute video showed Hizbul’s new operational commander, Yasin Yatoo, for whom “the Kashmir struggle”, which although “takes guidance from Islam”, has “strong legal, geographical, international and diplomatic aspects, which is why militant policies are framed based on these...”.
Without naming Musa, Yatoo, who could be heard paying tributes to Burhan for “his bravery and spirit of following the Ameer (the leader)”, said the defector was “playing at the hands of external forces”.
The open display of rift comes as the Jammu and Kashmir police was joined by 214 companies of central paramilitary forces — comprising more than 21,000 personnel — for the Amarnath Yatra and “any situation which may arise” on July 8.
The state police has also issued directives to internet service providers in the Valley to block access to social media sites or shut down their services from Thursday night.
The authorities in Kashmir are on the edge as separatists have called for a shutdown on Saturday, which marks the first anniversary of Wani’s death that triggered months of unrest between civilians and security forces.
We have been able to identify the real persons involved in that case and we have arrested threetofour persons. We will arrest others also. We have been able to recover the belongings such as the identity card and the pistol.
The Jammu and Kashmir police on Thursday said it had cracked the case of lynching of a police officer here last month by arresting “three to four” persons.
Other accused have also been identified and will be arrested soon, Kashmir inspector general of police Munir Ahmad Khan said here.
Deputy superintendent of police (DySP) Ayub Pandith was stripped and lynched by a mob outside Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of old Srinagar on the night of Shab-e-Qadar on June 22, triggering an outrage in Kashmir.
“We have been able to identify the real persons involved in that case and we have arrested threeto-four persons. We will be arresting others also,” Khan said.
“We have been able to recover the belongings (of the DySP) such as the identity card and the pistol,” the IGP added.
He said the investigation was going in the right direction.
“I can say 60 per cent of the investigation we have completed and we have cracked the case. I will be holding a separate press conference after a couple of days once I complete around 90 per cent of the investigation,” he said.
Pandith was killed after he allegedly opened fire at a group of people who had caught him clicking pictures near the mosque.
The DSP was posted at the access control of the mosque to prevent miscreants from vitiating the atmosphere so that people can offer prayers in peace.