'Central agencies not given access to arrested Kashmir cops'

Jammu and Kashmir Police have not given access either to the Intelligence Bureau or any paramilitary force for custodial questioning of six recently arrested local policemen, a senior police officer said here Tuesday, denying media reports.

"There is no question of giving access to any other investigating agency until the SIT completes its job," the officer told IANS, referring to the probe by the Special Investigating Team (SIT) into the nexus between some local policemen and subversive elements.

He, however, said that the state police would, "as part of the overall synergy between the various intelligence agencies and the paramilitary forces", share the SIT probe results with them.

"Based on the custodial questioning of the arrested policemen, we have made arrests of five civilians from south Kashmir and the investigations are progressing smoothly," the police officer said.

"There is no question of giving access to any other investigating agency until the SIT completes its job. Yes, as part of the overall synergy between the various intelligence agencies and the paramilitary forces with the state police, we will definitely share the results of the SIT probe with them," the officer told IANS here.

Following the killing of a former Hizbul Mujahideen militant, Ghulam Hassan Mir alias Shabnum, in Sadarbal locality of Srinagar June 7, the state police had zeroed in on three local policemen whose involvement in Shabnum's killing and some other guerrilla strikes had been established.

Three more local policemen were arrested based on the disclosures made by those arrested earlier. "In all so far, we have arrested six policemen and five civilians for being in the nexus. Some more arrests are likely in the coming days," the police officer said.

Interestingly, the police-militant nexus is believed to have been as old as 2009 when a navy deserter, Jan Mohammad Ahangar alias Jana Molvi of south Kashmir's Tral town, indoctrinated some local police of the area to work for the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit.

One of the arrested policemen, Muhammad Abbas of Tral, is the cousin of Jana Molvi, who joined the Hizbul after deserting the Indian Navy where he worked as a navigator. Jana Molvi was killed in a gunfight with security forces in 2009.