J&K cop, decorated with bravery medal, caught with 2 terrorists
A senior police officer was caught traveling with two terrorists on Saturday in the Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh, currently posted at the Srinagar International Airport, was apprehended at Mir Bazar with two others identified as terrorists of the Hizbul Mujahideen. Reportedly, the trio was on their way to Delhi. Here are more details.
According to The Times of India, a police party headed by South Kashmir Deputy Inspector General Atul Goel apprehended Singh with Naveed Babu and Asif Rather. Reportedly, Babu is a top HM commander, suspected of killing 11 non-local workers in South Kashmir last year. Babu is a former police constable who deserted the force in 2017, while Rather is a listed terrorist.
Reportedly, two AK-47 rifles and some hand grenades were recovered from the vehicle in which the trio was traveling. Officials told PTI that DSP Singh allegedly transported militants from the Shopian area, possibly out of the valley.
Police sources told NDTV that the trio was caught after tracing a call made by Babu—whose movements were being tracked—to his brother. The police then interrogated DSP Singh and Babu, based on which they conducted multiple raids across Srinagar and South Kashmir, including the DSP's home in Srinagar's Badami Bagh Cantonment. The police recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from them.
Police sources also told NDTV that DSP Singh had been absent from duty on Saturday and had applied for a four days' leave starting Sunday. Notably, the DSP was awarded the President's Police Medal for Gallantry last year on Independence Day.
Davinder Singh was appointed to the Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K Police in 1994 where he was promoted to the rank of DSP. However, he was removed from SOG over alleged extortion and was suspended. He was later reinstated and posted at Srinagar Police Control Room (PCR) and joined the anti-hijacking squad. He was deployed at Srinagar airport last year.
DSP Singh's name had popped up in a letter written by the 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru to his lawyer. In the letter, Guru alleged that the DSP had asked him to take Mohammad, a co-accused in the Parliament attack, to Delhi and arrange a rented flat for him. Guru had alleged that DSP Singh tortured him at the Humhama STF camp.
