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Terror module busted in Srinagar, 3 involved in attacking constable arrested
The arrested Srinagar trio includes Danish Ahmad Malla and Imtiyaz Ahmad Khanday, both from Hamdania Colony in Bemina and Mehnan Khan of Rainawari
Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday have busted a terror module, planning attacks on off-duty policemen in Srinagar and arrested three persons for the December 9 attack on police constable Mohammad Hafiz Chak.
The police have recovered two Turkish-made pistols, rounds and magazines from them.
The arrested Srinagar trio includes Danish Ahmad Malla and Imtiyaz Ahmad Khanday, both from Hamdania Colony in Bemina and Mehnan Khan of Rainawari.
Director general of police (DGP) RR Swain, while addressing the media, said the police was successful in tracing the attackers for targeting constable Mohammad Hafiz Chak, who was attacked while he was returning home after duty in Bemina on December 9.
“The mastermind in Kashmir is Danish Ahmad Malla, a resident of Hamdania Colony where our constable was living. And through him, he recruits two more persons –Khanday and Khan – whom we call ‘hybrid terrorists’. They are sleeper cells who get activated, otherwise they live normal lives,” Swain said.
The DGP said that the plan of killing off-duty policemen was hatched by a terrorist, now in Pakistan, by the name of Arjumand Gulzar of Pulwama, known by the code name of Hamzah Burhan. “He has caches of pistols hidden at different places. He arranged three persons to kill,” he added.
Chak was posted in police post Banmohalla of Fateh Kadal Police station and was shot multiple times as he was returning home.
“The constable survived, he is stable and doing well,” he said.
“The police have recovered the pistol from which six bullets were fired. “Imtiyaz Ahmad Khanday fired the shots and at his instance, we recovered the pistol with which he shot and nearly killed the policeman, As far as killers are concerned, they did their job. Six bullets were fired, three hit him. The police in a piece of professional work have been able to uncover the entire conspiracy,” The DGP added.
Swain said these three persons in Srinagar in cahoots with the man in Pakistan Arjumand Gulzar planned the whole thing. “They managed a pistol, did reconnaissance, studied his movements for several days and finally attacked him on December 9 at around 7 pm after he was returning home,” he said.
During interrogation, the DGP said they found out that the trio had a number of other targets. “Some of them had nearly been finalised, others were halfway through and still others were in their initial stages of planning,” he said.
“The evidence we have now is water-tight forensic evidence to connect the criminals with the crime,” he added.
The recoveries were also made after interrogation and supported by technical evidence. “Mehnan Khan also had a pistol which is of Turkish make- Canik T3P09 with one magazine and seven rounds. Danish Malla had a small reserve of 57 rounds of pistols and two magazines with him,” the DGP said.
