Hizb commander Naveed Babu’s brother, aide arrested in Jammu

Hunt for another ultra on; 5-member NIA team to probe case reaches Sgr

JAMMU: Days after Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Davinder Singh was arrested with wanted Hizbul commander Naveed Babu and two others, the sleuths of the Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and National Investigation Agency have arrested Naveed’s brother during a midnight raid from Narwal Bala area here.
Syed Mohd Irfan, who is pursuing PhD in a Chandigarh University, was arrested when he returned to Jammu to meet his family, and was taken to NIA office here for questioning.
He is the second person to be arrested in Jammu, reportedly on the disclosures on terror network made by suspended cop and Naveed, who are being interrogated since their arrest.
Singh was arrested on January 11 with three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists including top commander Naveed Babu, another militant Rafi Rather and an alleged Over Ground Worker Irfan Dar, along with arms and ammunition, while they were travelling towards Jammu in a car in Kazipur on the National Highway.
With NIA officially taking over the investigation, the agency has initiated a series of arrests, reportedly, based on the inputs of Singh and other ultras HM militants who are being interrogated jointly by JKP and NIA since January 11.
Syed Mohd Irfan’s arrest comes three days after an associate was arrested with from Malik Market area, even as an operation is likely to take place soon for a third associate, in Gujjar Nagar area.
“Naveed's brother namely Syed Mohd Irfan son of Syed Mushtaq Hussain of Shopian was arrested from Jammu in a midnight operation. Irfan is pursuing PhD in a University near Chandigarh,” official sources informed The News Now.
They said that Irfan had arrived in Jammu on Friday to visit his parents, who live in Karyanai Talab, Narwal Bala, in a rented house owned by one Barkat Ali.
“After the arrest, Irfan has been shifted to the NIA cell for questioning,” they said.
On Wednesday night, the SOG had arrested Mohd Rafiq Ganaie (36) son of Abdul Suban Ganie of Ramban along with a Tata Mobile vehicle from Malik Market area based on the inputs of his links with terrorists.
He was kept in Channi Himmat police station’s custody, the entire Wednesday night, and later taken to SOG’s cell for questioning.
Official sources said that the agencies are trying to expose Davinder's connections in Punjab and Chandigarh.
“Singh was supposed to drop Hizbul ultra Naveed and two others at Chandigarh, the place where his brother Irfan had been living, from where they had to take the onward journey to New Delhi,” the sources said.
“The arrested terrorists had a terror plan in mind. Some other terrorists were also supposed to join them. It is yet to be found out, if these other terrorists were Kashmiris or the Khalistanis. The agencies are grilling Singh and terrorists to find answers to these questions,” they said.
The security agencies including the state police were trying to find out more about the financial network of the Kashmiri terrorists which grew bigger after the separatist movement was fanned by the abrogation of Article 370.
"The militants were extracting money from the locals which was being used for anti-national activities. The arrested senior cop was given Rs 12 lakh for escorting the terrorists from the Valley to Chandigarh. From where this money came is the thing to be investigated," official sources said.
"We are looking into the nexus minutely. While the investigation so far is focused on instant case, but other aspects will also be investigated if any link is established at any stage. We had launched five operations on the basis of the inputs given by Naveed Babu but no arrests have been made thereafter. We have destroyed a couple of hideouts but did not find any terrorist," DGP Jammu and Kashmir Dilbag Singh had said during press conference on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a five-member team of the NIA commenced their week-long visit in Srinagar on Sunday, during which it will interrogate the disgraced DySP Davinder Singh.
Sources said that the investigating team will be in Kashmir for a week to collect evidence before heading back to Delhi.
According to sources, Singh will also be taken to Delhi when the team returns.
The investigating team will go to Kulgam, Qazigund, Srinagar airport and residences of Singh in the next few days to collect evidences.
A case was registered by the NIA on Saturday after receiving the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order and started the investigation.