Jammu and Kashmir police forms SIT; NIA takes over probe into cop-militant nexus

With National Investigation Agency (NIA) set to take over the case of J&K Police’s Deputy Superintendent Davinder Singh’s links with militants, police have also constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe his criminal conduct and any such act in the past.

DySP Singh was arrested on January 11 for transporting two top Hizbul Mujahideen militants to Jammu. One of the two militants arrested along with Singh is Naveed Babu, believed to be number 2 after Riyaz Naikoo, the face of militancy in Kashmir.

Babu, who deserted police force in 2017, is behind the killings of several policemen and civilians. His latest deadly acts included the killing of non-resident truck drivers and fruit growers following the Centre's move to abrogate Article 370.

In a series of tweets on its official twitter handle, the police said that an SIT is handling the interrogation of the accused officer which would probe his “criminal conduct in the instant case and his involvement in any such criminal acts in the past.”

“We have done it in the past in many cases and now in this particular case where it has caught its own officer on its own input and action and would continue to abide by our code of conduct and the law of the land which is same for everyone (sic),” one tweet reads.

Another tweet by the police says that Jammu Kashmir Police is known for its professionalism and doesn’t spare anyone including its own cadres if found involved in any unlawful act or unbecoming conduct.

The police also clarified that Singh was not awarded any gallantry or meritorious medal by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), as reported by several newspapers on Monday.

“It is to clarify that Dysp Davinder Singh is not awarded any Gallantry or Meritorious Medal by MHA as has been reported by some media outlets/persons,” read another tweet. “Only gallantry medal awarded to him during his service is by the erstwhile J&K State on Independence Day 2018 for his Participation in countering a fidayeen attack by militants at district Police Lines Pulwama on 25/26 Aug 2017 when he was posted there as DySP District Police lines Pulwama.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has reportedly approved the transfer of the case to the NIA, following the revelations made by Singh during his interrogation to a joint team of the NIA, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and J&K Police’s CID.

On January 11, DIG Atul Goel, an IPS officer who spent years in the NIA, before returning to his JKP cadre, intercepted a car at Mir Bazaar before the Jawahar tunnel in Kulgam district and found Singh was travelling to Jammu along with Naveed Babu and Asif Ahmad.

A senior police officer said Singh was on police radar and that his movements were being tracked for suspicious activities. The officer also revealed that DySP Singh was accompanying Hizb commander and two other associates including a lawyer, to Chandigarh or Delhi with an aim to execute a militant plot on the eve of January 26.