Srinagar: The Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh on Wednesday said that the slain militant killed in Nunar area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district was “a close aide” of slain Hizb commander Riyaz Naikoo and was appointed for “specific target killings”.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the wreath laying ceremony of slain cop Altaf Hussain in Srinagar, DGP said the slain militant had been working as an Over Ground Worker (OGW) before joining the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit actively a few months ago.
“Yesterday evening, militants targeted the BJP vice-president Ghulam Qadir in Nuner area of Ganderbal district. Qadir is a protected person with two Personal Security Officers (PSOs). One of his PSOs Altaf Hussain retaliated and killed one militant on the spot during which he sustained bullet wounds”, DGP said, adding the brave cop later on lost his life while saving the protected person.
He said the slain militant killed in retaliation by the PSO Altaf Hussain was the close aide of slain Hizb chief operational commander Riyaz Naikoo. “The killed militant was identified as Shabir Ahmad of Awantipora, Pulwama who was the close aide of Naikoo and was working as OGW for Hizb outfit for a long time”, DGP said.
While explaining the joining of slain militants, DGP said the killed militant had joined active militancy just a few months ago and was associated with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit from a long time. He said Shabir was tasked to carry out the target hitting of BJP leaders in Ganderbal.
When asked how militants managed to reach here from south Kashmir, the DGP said that it is not a “big deal” for a militant to travel from one district to another. “For a militant, the entire area is open. He can move from any place. He works on the dictation of Pakistan”, DGP said. The top police officer also referred to TRP which he called as “mouthpiece of Pakistan and ISI”.
“Recently 39 journalists were threatened by the TRF. They are the people who are doing their job honestly,” he said, adding, “They (militants) target people who are working for peace and development, on the directions from Pakistan. Pakistan is the big collaborator of the killings. They damage our Kashmiri people. TRF is Pakistan’s and ISI’s mouthpiece. They do not let people do their routine work. We have given befitting replies in the past and continue to do so in future”, DGP according to KNS told reporters.
To a query about the readiness of security forces while stopping attacks on highways, the Police chief said that drones and other technical support is being used to monitor the militant movement on highways. “Besides drones, other technical support has been put in place to monitor the movement of militants on the highways. In several attempts, security forces achieved success in neutralizing militants during counter attacks”, DGP Dilbagh Singh told reporters.
At the occasion DGP expressed sympathies with the family of slain cop. “The way he responded to militant firing, we feel proud of him. We express our sympathies to the bereaved family at this juncture”, DGP has said. (KINS)