Inter-State links of slain Hizb commander traced, say Punjab police

They arrested his close associate and two accomplices in Amritsar last month

The Punjab police on Thurdsday said it has traced the inter-State links of slain Hizbul Mujhahideen commander Riaz Ahmed Naikoo with the arrest of two accomplices of his close associate Hilal Ahmed Wagay in Amritsar.

Dinkar Gupta, DGP, said the duo were arrested on April 6 and were traced through investigations into the trail of Hizbul terrorist Hilal Ahmed Wagay, who was nabbed from Amritsar recently, where he had come to collect money on the instructions of Naikoo.

The duo have been identified as Bikram Singh alias Vicky and Maninder Singh alias Mani, both residents of Amritsar.

“The police seized 1 kg heroin along with ₹32 lakhs in Indian currency from them unveiling Pakistan-sponsored conspiracy to smuggle narcotics and weapons into the State,” said Mr. Gupta. “While ₹20 lakh was recovered from them at the time of their arrest, the remaining was seized from their homes later, following the grant of police remand by the court,” he said.

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Naikoo, commander of the banned terrorist organisation Hizbul Muzahideen (HM), was gunned down by security forces in South Kashmir on April 6. Wagay was arrested on April 25 by the Punjab police, who had subsequently shared details of his disclosures with the Centre and the J&K government.