J&K cop arrested for helping militants

A decorated Indian officer has been arrested for helping to transport rebel militants in Kashmir, the police chief of the restive and highly-militarised Himalayan province said yesterday.

Deputy superintendent Davinder Singh had worked for the police for decades and was a member of an elite counter-insurgency force in the disputed territory, which both India and Pakistan claim in full.

He was apprehended late on Saturday when his vehicle was pulled over at a police checkpoint south of Srinigar, the region’s main city.

“The fast moving car was stopped and searched. Two wanted militants and our officer... and a third person were arrested in the operation,” Kashmir police chief Vijay Kumar told reporters.

Kumar said police and intelligence agencies were questioning Singh, accusing the officer of a “heinous crime”.

Security forces recovered guns and ammunition from several locations in the follow up to the arrests, including from Singh’s residence in Srinagar.

Hours after the four men were detained, police killed three alleged rebels during a gunfight in southern Kashmir’s Tral district, where the arrested militants were based.

One of those arrested was Naveed Baba, the deputy commander of the local rebel outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.