Sopore Police unearths nexus between militants, stone pelters, Govt employees

‘Militants raise funds in apple town, pay Rs 400/day to each stone pelter on Friday’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 27: Police in North Kashmir today claimed to have unearthed yet another module of militants, stone pelters and government employees which allegedly played key role in this year’s street clashes and demonstrations in Sopore. Activists detained by Police have revealed how militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba had been raising funds from local traders and making cash payment to the stone pelters at the rate of Rs 400 per day.

Contrary to the belief of a many politicians from New Delhi to Srinagar, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, DIG North Kashmir, Munir Khan, today claimed that there was a working nexus between militants and stone pelters in Sopore area of Kashmir valley. While addressing a news conference, alongwith SP Sopore Altaf Khan, and Commanding Officer of CRPF 179 Bn, V K Singh, DIG Munir Khan said that in his area of operations as many as 26 militants, including five local cadres, had been killed by Police and security forces during current year. He said that 12 more militants, including a foreigner, had been arrested.

DIG said that one Maruti car and a motorcycle, used in a militant attack on MLA Sopore Haji Mohammad Ashraf Ganai’s house at Dangarpora Dooru, had been seized. Arms and ammunition recovered in different operations this year and put at an exhibition on the occasion included 29 AK rifles and eight pistols. He said that a number of detained militants and operatives had been detained under Public Safety Act and other laws.

According to DIG Khan, there was an active network of 21 militants and militant operatives with equal number of women activists that had organized mass demonstrations and street attacks on Police and security forces earlier this year. He said that during investigation, Police learned that some government employees, and even the Imam of a Jamia Masjid at Amargarh, had been associated with the network.

DIG Khan claimed that Police achieved a breakthrough in the arrest of one Firdaus Ahmed Sheikh of Jalalabad, Sopore, who turned out to be the kingpin of the gang of stone pelters. He said that during sustained questioning, Firdaus disclosed that he had liaison with two Pakistani militants, namely Abdullah Uni of Lashkar-e-Toiba and Kaleemullah of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. Later Police arrested two more guerrilla members of the network, namely Qayoom Bajad and Munshi Khan, who revealed that they had been tasked with providing safe passage of militants from Sopore to Rajouri.

DIG said that during sustained questioning of the detained operatives, Police learned that some Hurriyat activists and a number of government employees were also in the loop. He said that Police subsequently conducted a raid one the house of one Mohammad Amin Dar at Badami Bagh, Sopore, and recovered one Pistol, two Thuraya Satellite Phones, one grenade, one Tata Indicom cellphone set, one AK 47 rifle, two combat uniforms, one composer, three pouches, 11 UBGL shells and one UBGL.

During investigation, one Abdul Lateef Lone R/O Radbugh, Kupwara, working as Imam of Jamia Masjid Amargarh, Sopore was arrested and subjected to prosecution. Lone was claimed to have revealed that militants through local Hurriyat (G) cadres used to collect donations by way of extortion from fruit dealers and sawmill owners and later paid Rs 400/day to stone pelters on every Friday.  

Hurriyat cadres allegedly collecting money for stone pelters were identified as Ghulam Mohammad Tantray R/o Behrampora, currently detained under PSA, Ghulam Hassan Mir @ Chotta Geelani R/o Duroo, currently absconding, Mohammad Rustum R/o Amargarh, Sopore detained under PSA, Gani Guroo R/o Chankhan (Absconding), Ashraf Malik R/o Batpora  (Government Employee of Education Department) currently in custody  and Bashir Ahmad Tali R/o Chankhan, Sopore, (employee of CAPD, currently absconding).

DIG said that some members of the network, including the most wanted Ghulam Hassan Mir of Dooru alias ‘Chhotta Geelani”, were still at large but Police were conducting raids and operations to effect their arrest. He, however, did not reveal if Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) of the government employees involved in stone pelting had been asked to initiate any action or withhold their monthly salaries.

Khan said that a woman, namely Raja Begum, whose house had perished in a recent gunbattle in Sopore, was among a group of 21 females who had been actively working for the network of militants and stone pelters. He claimed that with the arrest of a number of militants and stone pelters, besides their facility providers, Police and security forces had pre-empted plans of a Fidayeen strike in Sopore.

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