Qamarwari shootout exposes militant-stone pelter axis

‘Cop killers’ had set out on a deadly mission from Sopore, cellphone CDR shows links with stone pelters

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 2: Monday’s shootout at Qamarwari is leading Police to establishment of “working links” between stone pelters and militants of the formidable guerrilla outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba. One constable and three Kashmiri youth---who were  “cop killers” according to Police but innocent civilians according to the ruling National Conference’s Lok Sabha Member Sharief-ud-din Shariq---had died in the broad daylight shootout.

Commander of Sopore-based “cop killer module”, Waseem Raja Guroo of Seer Jagir locality has been found to have been inducted as Jaish-e-Mohammad’s “battalion commander” by top functionary of the outfit Shoaib alias Yasir, a Pakistani national. His alleged involvement in over a dozen guerrilla strikes in Sopore area made Guroo a “Category A militant” in 2009. Wanted in nearly a dozen strikes, including killing of Police personnel, Guroo, according to Police records, remained active in Sopore-Pattan-Bandipore belt in North Kashmir.

Zahoor Ahmed Hajjam, who operated with code names of Tanvir and Imran, was a resident of Ward No:5 of Bandipore. While continuing his studies, Hajjam was locally trained by some militants of Al-Badar outfit before he was arrested by troops of Rashtriya Rifles 15^th Bn on August 23, 2004. During sustained interrogation, he not only handed over his Chinese-made pistol to Army but also got his associate, Hilal Ahmed Shah S/o Mohammad Sultan Shah R/o Hospital Road, Bandipore, arrested. FIR No: 170 of 2004 at Police Station Bandipore shows that seven hand grenades were recovered from Shah. He remained under detention for nearly two years till a court quashed the PSA slapped on him. Months after his release, he was recycled and worked with Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Even after completing his graduation in Education (B Ed) from a private college, Mehboobul Alam, and subsequently working as a teacher at Kousarya Public School, Chak Rishipora, Hajjam went underground in October. His dead body was among the three recovered from the shootout site at Qamarwari on November 29^th.

Shariq’s relative, Arshid Bashir Peerzada S/o Bashir Ahmed Peerzada R/o Alsafa Colony, Sopore, was a student enrolled at Government Degree College Bemina. He has no history of involvement with militancy but Police insist that a hand grenade was found tied to his body when it was recovered from the site of the shootout. They also insist that Arshid Bashir’s rented accommodation in Bemina had served as hideout for the trio as also some other “militants and stone pelters”. He happened to be the grandson of Shariq’s brother-in-law, Ghulam Ahmed Peer of Chogal, Handwara. For years, Peer functioned as Jamaat-e-Islami’s Tehsil President in Handwara.

Details collected by Police about Shariq, immediately after he began clamouring about the “cold blooded murder of innocent youth”, revealed that the politician had a longtime association with Jamaat-e-Islami as well as its guerrilla arm, Hizbul Mujahideen. He, in fact, began his political career with unsuccessfully contesting his first ever Assembly elections on Jamaat-e-Islami ticket and symbol in 1972 against then ruling Congress party’s candidate, Abdul Gani Lone.

According to Police records, Shariq was kidnapped by the militants of Allah Tigers from Directorate of School Education in 1991 but was got rescued by militants of Hizbul Mujahideen. In 1993, BSF arrested Hizbul Mujahideen’s first “Commander-in-Chief” (two years after he had launched his own Muslim Mujahideen) from the officially allotted accommodation of NC leader, Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, near Mini Bus Stand Jawahar Nagar alongwith Shariq’s son, Pervez Ahmed, who was later released and appointed as an Inspector in Department of Excise and Taxation. He was again arrested by SOG Srinagar from Flat No: E-28. His interrogation led to the arrest of top wanted Hizb militant, Javed Ahmed Kirmani S/o Maulvi Mohammad Akbar Kirmani of Diwaspora, Handwara.

While Dar was lifted from the flat allotted to Lone---who later became Minister of State for Home and was killed in September 2002 in a militant strike at Tikkipora (Lolab)---Pervez was picked up from the premises allotted to his father, Shariq.

Police records also revealed that one Tassaduq Rasool Shah, grandson of Shariq’s brother, Noor-ud-din Shah, was currently working as a commander at a guerilla training camp in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. He was reportedly a senior functionary in United Jihad Council.

According to well-placed authoritative sources, in its preliminary investigation of the Qamarwari shootout, Police have learned that the three slain youth, Waseem Raja Guroo, Zahoor Ahmed Hajam and Arshid Bashir, had set out from Sopore on a mission of striking on Police personnel in Srinagar.

Tracking call detail record of one of the three mobile phones recovered from the bodies of the youth, Police have learned that the “cop killers” were present in Ontoo Hamam locality of Sopore during the night intervening November 28^th and 29^th. SIM card of the cellphone recorded that the last call was handled by Airtel’s Ontoo Hamam site at 1801 hours on Nov 28^th. On way to Srinagar, one of the day’s first calls came through Airtel’s sites at Mian Mohalla and Malpora in the highway township of Pattan at 0825 hours on Nov 29^th.

In Srinagar, the “cop killers” operated the first call at 0929 hours. It was handled by Airtel’s site at Zaima Masjid, Qamarwari. They received the last call of their life at 1218 hours, just 17 minutes before they gunned down Constable Mohammad Ashraf  S/o Mohammad Yousuf Shah R/o Lar, Ganderbal, at Baitul Shafa Medical Hall. It came through a tower at Qamarwari Chowk.

Inquiries revealed that two constables came out of Police Chowki Qamarwari to purchase some vegetables from the market. While Constable Ashraf was busy in buying the vegetables, one of the three youth took out his pistol and pumped two shots into his neck. He fell in a pool of blood and died on the spot. The killer lifted his AK-47 rifle and handed it over to his colleague who was wearing a black colour Pheran. People ran for life at the first gunshot. Constable Shabir, who watched his colleague felling to the bullets and being relieved of his AK-47 in full view of people, decided to hit the trio only after he saw two of them laughing over the assassination and heading leisurely towards Cement Bridge. He was purchasing a jacket inside a nearby shop.

Constable Shabir walked some 20 yards behind the youth who were walking unmindful of their behind and fired on them all with precision. All the three died on the spot. He was later rewarded with four grade promotions, appointed ASI and also given cash reward of Rs 5 Lakh. Those who rushed to the spot after the shootout were also rewarded with one rank promotion each.

Sources revealed that the call detail records of the mobile phones seized on the spot indicated that the slain youth had remained directly in touch with more than 20 stone pelters in Srinagar and Sopore. Some of them have been arrested in the last one month while others are being rounded up. Officials believe that it would be second consecutive confirmation of “close liaison” between militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba and the stone pelters whose activities froze the Valley for over four months this summer. They insist that all the three were lastly working with Lashkar.

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