With the arrest of a top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen and four of his overground workers from Sopore in Baramulla district, police on Saturday claimed to have busted a module of terror outfit.
“In a successful operation, a top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen was apprehended and a Hizb module busted in Sopore,” DIG North Kashmir J.P. Singh told reporters at Sopore, 55 km from Srinagar.
Mr. Singh said police with the assistance of Army and CRPF arrested Nisar Ahmad Dar alias Usman, a dreaded militant who was earlier working with Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit.
“He was earlier apprehended by police in 2007 with a huge recovery of 50 hand grenades. Thereafter, on his release in 2009, he joined the Hizbul Mujahideen ranks and got involved in large number of terrorist activities in the areas of North-Kashmir and Srinagar city. He is a very crucial member of Hizbul Mujahideen terror network operating in North Kashmir and Srinagar city,” the officer said.
He said Dar was involved in number of “terrorist actions undertaken by him independently and jointly with his other associates in Handwara, Sopore, Pattan and Srinagar.”
The DIG said besides killing a police constable at Lathishat in Sopore in 2011, he was also behind the IED blast outside Sopore police station that left another constable dead.
Mr. Singh said Dar was also involved in the attack on a liquor shop at Hotel Heemal in Srinagar on October 15 last year.
In June this year, Dar and his associates shot dead a prominent businessman Kifayat Hussain Mir in Sopore area, Mr. Singh said.
“Besides, the arrested militant along with his associates executed an attack on contractors and workers at Wullar Flood Conservation Project site at Adipora on August 28 last year.
Questioning of the militant commander and investigation of the case reveals that directions for the attack were passed on by Hizb Supreme Commander Mohd Yousuf Shah alias Salahudin and one Amir Khan based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to scuttle the efforts to conserve Wullar Lake,” he added.
Dar led police and security forces to arrest some of his associates and over ground militants of the militant module.
Those arrested have been identified as Inaytullah Ganie alias Sajid, Ashiq Hussain Mir, Khazir Ahmad Ganie and Bilal Ahmad Kaloo.
“Arms and ammunition recovered from the arrested militant and his associates include one AK rifle, one magazine, 30 rounds, three pistols, three magazines and some rounds of ammunition,” he added.
