The sensational snatching away of a hardcore Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) terrorist set several heads rolling in Kashmir on a day when police claimed that four persons including two ultras were arrested for execution and logistic support of the operation that resulted into killing of two policemen escorting the handcuffed militant Naveed Jatt on Tuesday.
The State Cabinet gave marching orders to provincial police Chief Munir Khan and Director General (prisons SK Mishra while the Home Secretary ordered suspension of the Superintendent of Central Jail Prinagar) Hilal Ahmad Rather. Jatt was lodged in central jail and was being escorted to Sri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital for medical check-up when he was snatched away and driven off to an unknown location.
Jatt on Thursday circulated several pictures from his hideout carrying assault rifle along-with several LeT militants.
Police said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Superintendent of Police Javid Iqbal had been constituted to investigate the high profile case. The SIT has found that mobiles were being used by jail inmates at central jail and militants of Hizbul Mujahideen and LeT to hatch the conspiracy.Hours before provincial police chief Munir Khan was sent on an insignificant assignment of additional Director General Home Guards, apparently a snub on his failure to manage the security situation, he told media persons that militants and Over Ground Workers of Hizbul and LeT had hatched the conspiracy of Naveed’s escape almost four months ago. “They were not able to execute the conspiracy. The militants had planned to get him (Naveed) freed from Pulwama court complex,” he said.
He said the conspiracy was hatched at the residence of one Tika Khan at Sino- Narbal village. Khan has been arrested.
“Out of five, all four from Pulwama have been arrested. Those arrested include Shakeel Ahmed Bhat of Kakpora, Tika Khan, Syed Tajamul of Pahu and Mohammad Shafi Wani of Singu Narbal. Only Hilal Ahmed Rather of Kakpora is absconding along with Naveed and we are looking for them,” Khan said at a press briefing in Srinagar.
He said pistols with live ammunition were recovered from Shakeel and Tika. Apparently these weapons have been used to shoot the policemen.He said Tika has visited Central Jail frequently on different pretexts.
He said the police took four hours to crack the case using scientific evidence, tracking down vehicles used in the operation and record of the militants and OGWs.
He said the identified persons were tracked down in night long raids across Pulwama district.
Khan said that on the day of occurrence these guys came to Srinagar and took their positions at various points in SMHS hospital with a motorcycle and car.
He narrated the sequence as to how the militants snatched Naveed, shot dead escort policemen and rode off on a bike. “Shakeel rode the motorcycle with Naveed and Hilal on pillion. They all were dropped across Abdullah bridge. From there they went to a place in Srinagar city. In the evening Tika reached there with a vehicle to pick them up and drop at his home. Unfortunately when our parties reached there, Naveed and Hilal had left the house,” Munir Khan said.
He claimed that a proper SOP (Standard Operation Procedure) was followed when the Pakistani militant was taken to hospital and refused to describe it as ‘’security lapse”.
Khan said that militants were desperate to ensure Naveed’s escape as top Lashkar militants like Abu Dujana, Abu Qasim, and Abu Ismail were killed by security forces.
Hour before Khan’s briefing pictures of Naveed surfaced on social media where he was seen posing with top Hizb commanders based in Shopian. Hizbul Mujahideen operational commander Riyaz Naiko, in an audio message on Wednesday, claimed Naveed and the militant who rescued him had reached a safe destination.
Meanwhile, J&K government suspended Superintendent Central jail Srinagar, Hilal Ahmad Rather, with immediate effect and appointed Mukesh Kumar, Additional SP Police Component Anantnag as the new Superintendent. DG Prisons had already ordered an internal inquiry in to incident.
In a related development, the state cabinet in Jammu ordered tranbsfer of DGP Prisons SK Mishra and placed him as chainman of Police Housing Corporation. Mishra has been at loggerheads with incumbent DGP Shesh Paul Vaid over the latter’s appointment as DGP. Mishra approached the state high court saying seniority norms were flouted when Vaid was appointed as DGP and claimed that he himself was the actual choice for the post.