Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 25: Close on the heels of a major nexus between police and militants being unearthed in the Kashmir Valley with the arrest of five constables, who had virtually been operating as militants, police today busted a major racket involving police-army-militants in Rajouri district involved in selling grenades for money and planting them in shops to show their rivals as terrorists.
So far, Rajouri police have arrested four persons including a police constable, posted in District Police Lines (DPL) Ramban, a Territorial Army soldier, posted at Surankote, a suspected militant and a civilian, all residents of Rajouri and Poonch districts.
A Chinese grenade sold by the TA jawan from his house for Rs 5000 to a suspected militant and subsequently planted in a shop to frame a civilian as a militant has been seized.
SSP Rajouri Mubassir Latifi told the Excelsior that all four accused have been arrested. A case has been registered against them at Rajouri police station. They were being quizzed to ascertain whether they had committed such acts in past also.
He identified the arrested accused as Abdul Rahim son of Abdul Latief, a resident of Mendhar, a police constable posted at DPL Ramban, Mohammad Hanief son of Mohammad Israel, a resident of Palma, Rajouri, a jawan of 156 Territorial Army, posted at Surankote, Mohammad Rashid alias Kaka son of Mohammad Ismayil, a resident of Rajouri town, working as a tempo driver and a suspected militant and Aurangzeb son of Mohammad Ramzan R/o Gurdanbala, Rajouri, a civilian, who wanted to trap his brother in the militancy case by planting a Chinese grenade at his shop.
The Territorial Army jawan had sold the grenade for Rs 5000 to police constable and suspected militant, which they planted at the shop of Javed Ahmed son of Mohammad Ramzan R/o Gurdanbala, Rajouri, at Darhali bridge in Rajouri town with the help of Javed’s brother, Aurangzeb.
Official sources said Javed Ahmad and his brother Aurangzeb were not having good terms for the past one week after the return of Ahmad from Saudi Arabia as both had started living at one place. Both had heated exchanges few days back after which Aurangzeb plotted revenge with his brother and decided to frame in a case so that he couldn’t come out of jail.
Aurangzeb approached a suspected militant Mohammad Rashid alias Kaka, who assured help to former saying he knew a police constable and a Territorial Army jawan, who would arrange explosive material. They decided to keep explosives to plant them in the shop of Javed Ahmad at Darhali bridge, Rajouri and then inform police to frame Javed as a militant.
Javed and Kaka contacted police constable Abdul Rahim, who, in turn, approached Territorial Army jawan Mohammad Hanief, who took them to their house at Palma and gave them a Chinese grenade for Rs 5000.
Sources said Aurangzeb and Mohammad Rashid alias Kaka broke the lock of the shop-cum-godown of Javed Ahmad at Darhali bridge and kept the grenade inside. They sounded police in the morning that Javed was a militant and had a grenade inside his shop.
A police team took Javed Ahmad to his shop this morning for recovery of the grenade. Javed was surprised to see a lock put at his shop. He told police that it was not his lock and he didn’t have its keys. Police became suspicious and broke the lock. The Chinese grenade was recovered from inside the shop.
Sources said police parties headed by SSP Rajouri Mubassir Latifi started investigations into the case and quizzed the persons, who had tipped off police about the grenade inside the shop of Javed Ahmed.
Police finally nailed the conspiracy when it apprehended Aurangzeb and Mohammad Rashid alias Kaka, who broke down and informed the cops that they had purchased the grenade from the Territorial Army jawan with the help of police constable Abdul Rahim.
Police parties swung into action and finally arrested all four accused. They confessed the crime and were booked under FIR No. 452/2012 under Sections 7/25 Indian Arms Act and 120-B RPC at police station Rajouri.
Police was questioning all the accused to ascertain their involvement, if any, in other such cases. Police believed that if a tempo driver (Mohammad Rashid) was aware that a police constable and a TA jawan were selling grenades, there could be more such incidents involving them.
All accused were likely to be shifted to Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) for sustained interrogation to extract details from them.
SSP Rajouri Mubassir Latifi was conducting further investigations in the case under the supervision of DIG Rajouri-Poonch range MK Sinha.
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