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HM using conduits for narcotic smuggling in J&K: IGP Sinha

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 6/25/2019 1:23:29 PM

‘No specific input about threat to Amarnath Yatra’

JAMMU, Jun 24: Inspector General of Police M K Sinha Monday stated that Hizbul Mujahideen was smuggling the narcotic substance through its conduits into J&K from across the Line of Control (LoC).
While addressing a press conference here, he stated that Hizbul's drug smuggling nexus was busted with the arrest of a smuggler near LoC in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district, a couple of days ago, with 12 kg of heroin.
IGP said though there was no specific input about threat to Amarnath Yatra, yet “foolproof arrangements are in place to ensure smooth pilgrimage.’
Regarding Hizbul’s druf smuggling nexus, IGP Sinha said that the militant group was also engaged in smuggling narcotics into the state from across the Line of Control.
“Mohammad Altaf alias "Hafiz", a resident of Behrouti Kanga village of Balakote area in India's Mendhar sector was arrested on June 21 on a tip off by of his two accomplices, nabbed last month along. The duo, Fayaz Ahmad Dar of Bijbehara in Anantnag district and Arshad Ahmed of Shopian, were arrested on May 27 and were found in possession of 260 grams of heroin and over Rs 12 lakh,” IGP Sinha informed.
The IGP said four accounts belonging to one of the three arrested smugglers were frozen and further investigation is on. Drug smugglers Dar and Arshad were arrested by a police team on from Vivekanand Chowk in Jammu.
“During his interrogation, the arrested smugglers revealed that there is a nexus between Hizbul Mujahideen militants, trained in Pakistan and presently living with narco smugglers on this side of the border. HM is smuggling the narcotic substance through its conduits into the country,” he said.
“At the moment we are still investigating and trying to study how the money is circulated and where it is used,” he said. “A five member special investigation team headed by SP (North) Amrit Paul Singh was constituted and during sustained interrogation, Arshad broke down and named Hafiz who is actually receiving the consignment at the zero line in his village and smuggling the same into India,” the IGP said.
He said Hafiz was arrested on June 21 and at his disclosure, 12 kgs of heroin was recovered from his village on Sunday. “Fayaz had gone across the LoC in January 2018 to meet his brother Ayaz who is a Pakistan-trained Hizbul Mujahideen militant. He fled to Pakistan after remaining active here for many years and is presently living in Rawalpandi," said Sinha.
With regard to recent encounters in Kishtwar district, where militants managed to flee after breaking the cordon on both the occasions, he said that the security forces had learnt their lessons from these experiences. He, however, said that there were at least ten local militants active in Kishtwar.
Replying to questions related to revival of militancy in Kishtwar, he said at least 10 local militants, mostly belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, were active in the district,. “A total of 10 militants -- eight belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and two to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) are active in Kishtwar district. All of them are local youths,” he told reporters in response to a question about the number of active militants in the hilly district of Jammu region.
Asked whether it was worrying for the security forces that the ultras managed to give them a slip after establishing contact with them, he said, "We have learnt our lessons and will go fully prepared next time when there is information about their presence." "When we received information about presence of militants in Marwah, we sent an advance party for recce of the area but unfortunately it came under fire and the ultras fled. Same was the case in Keshwan," he said.
Kishtwar was declared terrorism-free over a decade ago, but was rattled by the killing of State Secretary of BJP Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet Parihar on November 1 last year, followed by assassination of senior RSS leader Chanderkant Sharma and his security guard inside a health centre on April 9. So far, the militants behind the killings have evaded arrests even as security forces launched a massive operation to track them down and had two brief gunfights with the hiding terrorists on May 31 in Appan area of Marwah and again on June 21 in Keshwan forest.
While two Special Police Officers were injured in Marwah encounter, a suspected militants was believed to have been injured in Keshwan, but the militants managed to escape from both the places.
With regard to Amarnath Yatra, IGP said that additional central paramilitary forces were made available to Jammu and Kashmir this year to ensure peaceful pilgrimage scheduled to begin next month.
He said the availability of more forces compared to previous years resulted in strengthening of counter-infiltration grid, deployment of road-opening parties all along the highway and strengthening of the security around camps housing the pilgrims. “Six special teams comprising police, the SDRF and magistrates would be deployed in landslide prone areas along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district to ensure minimum disruption during the yatra,” he said.
“Though there is no specific input about threat to the yatra, all necessary security arrangements are in place as the sensitivity increases during the pilgrimage. We have got additional central paramilitary forces this time compared to previous years and have accordingly made foolproof arrangements,” he said. He said two companies of the BSF were inducted and deployed with the border police, who are in the third tier in the counter-infiltration grid along the international border, to augment security and ensure adequate manpower to guard the border roads linking with the highway from Lakhanpur to Jammu.
“The yatra crosses five districts of Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur and Ramban in Jammu region covering a total distance of 268-kms. The whole highway has been divided into different zones and sectors for better security,” he said, adding that each zone would be headed by a Superintendent of Police, while non-gazetted police officers will be responsible for the security in assigned sectors.
“The highway check posts have been increased and the laterals connecting with the highway will be manned and no one will be allowed on the highway from there during the movement of the pilgrims,” he said. Pilgrim camps, registration centres and community kitchens will be guarded round-the-clock, he said.
“In fact, the langar (community kitchen) operators were given conditional permission that they will install CCTV cameras and ensure proper lighting arrangement in the peripheral areas of their camping site as part of the enhanced security arrangement,” the IGP said.
Highlighting police achievements against its anti-drug drive, Sinha said so far 454 drug peddlers were arrested this year and 341 cases under the NDPS Act registered against the 302 arrests and 231 cases during the same period last year.
On recoveries of narcotics this year, he said 57 kgs of heroin, 5,035 kgs of poppy straw, 111 kgs of charas and 15,676 bottles of banned 'corex' were seized so far.