Police on Friday claimed to have arrested five Jaish-e-Muhammad militants accused of being involved in the killing of labourer Deepak Kumar of Udhampur at Janglat Mandi Anantnag.
DIG south Kashmir Rayees Mohammad Bhat said that on the evening of May 29 at 21:14 hours, unknown gunmen on a scotty rode up to the amusement park near GMC Anantnag and with the assistance of their illegally procured arms and ammunition, fired upon the labourer namely Deepak Kumar alias Deepu of Udhampur, causing serious injuries to him.
Deepu was shifted to hospital GMC Anantnag by the labourers of the amusement park where doctors declared him brought dead. After the incident, he said, the attackers fled from the spot, DIG said.
Upon this information, he said, police filed a case (FIR NO 171/2023) under section 7/27 Arms Act, 302 IPC 16,18,20,39 ULAP Act and set investigation into motion.
Subsequently, he said, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted on May 30, and the investigation was conducted, and all possible technical, human and scientific evidence were collected to nab the involved accused.
Meanwhile, he said, two persons from Deva Colony got missing, namely Sehran Bashir Nadaf of Shirpora Deva Colony and Ubaid Nazir Laigroo of Shirpora New Colony.
“Meanwhile police on 6 June 23 at about 2230 hours, apprehended two suspect persons during Naka Checking at Semthan-Tulkhan Crossing. Their disclosure led to major breakthrough in the case and the accused persons involved in the commission of the crime were identified,” he said as per news agency GNS.
“Their disclosure coupled with the scientific and technical data analysis led to the recoveries of arms ammunition and the scooty (JK03M-0442) used in the commission of act”, he said.
“The incriminating materials were recovered and seized in presence of the Executive Magistrate and two main accused persons associated with JeM/KFF outfit, who were involved in the commission of crime, were arrested.”
Further investigation of the case established the identities of more accused persons who had provided “logistic support and had hatched a criminal conspiracy” with the co-accused, he said. Subsequently, he said, three more accused were arrested.
He said that the accused persons were in contact with a JeM/KFF handler namely Khalid Kamran and the incident was carried out on his orders.
With the arrests and the recoveries made from them, he said, Police solved the murder case as well as succeeded in averting major attacks which these accused had been “tasked to carry out by their handler across the border.”
Further investigations are underway, and more revelations are expected, he said.
The arrested accused persons were identified by the DIG as Sehran Bashir Nadaf, Ubaid Nazir Laigroo , Umer Amin Thoker of Waghama, Huzaif Shabir Bhat of Wachi Shopian and Nasir Farooq Shah of Wanteng Mohalla Bijbehara
He also claimed recovery of one AK-47, its one Magazine and 40 Rounds besides two pistols, as many magazines, seven rounds, as many empty cartridges, three hand grenades, seven mobile phones and the Scooty.