Court sends DSP Davinder Singh accused of terror links to 15-day NIA remand

"During the initial probe, Singh broke down while admitting that he had made a big mistake," sources privy to the investigation told DH

A special court in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday granted 15-day remand of suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh to National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The suspended officer, who was arrested on January 11 by the police, while transporting two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants, Naveed Babu, Rafi Ahmed, and a lawyer Irfan Ahmed in a vehicle to Jammu, was produced in a special NIA court.

The NIA sought 15-day custody to interrogate Singh and four other accused in the case which was granted by the court, officials said. The accused were brought to the court in bullet-proof vehicles with their faces covered.

After obtaining custody, the NIA is likely to bring the accused to Delhi for investigation in a day or two. Earlier, the NIA, which took over the investigation from J&K Police last weekend, brought all four arrested, including Singh, to Jammu on a transit remand from Kashmir.

"The initial probe has revealed that Naveed Babu, who was arrested with Singh, had comfortably stayed in Jammu from December 2018 to February 19 with the help of the disgraced DSP. Naveed had reached Jammu and arranged accommodation for himself with the help of Singh, who was DSP, anti-hijacking at Srinagar Airport," they added.

Sources said police are now investigating as to where exactly Babu had stayed in Jammu, for how long and if he had planned or executed any subversive activity. "It is being investigated who were the people he had met during their hiding in the winter capital for over two months," they revealed.