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Omar takes up Hizb man’s arrest with Shinde
Delhi Police insists Liyaqat was on terror mission, hadn’t come to surrender
Ravi K. Khajuria & Shaurya K. Gurung
Tribune News Service

J-K Govt, Delhi Police lock horns Omar presses for a time-bound probe by the National Investigation Agency into the entire episode. The J&K Government seeks details regarding Shah’s arrest from the Delhi Police The J-K Police says Shah was coming to India via Nepal to take benefit of the state government mandated surrender policy The Delhi Police says Shah had come with a “broad intention” of carrying out a fidayeen attack in New Delhi, possibly on Holi.

Jammu/New Delhi, March 23
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday discussed with Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde the arrest of Syed Liyaqat Shah, an alleged Hizb terrorist arrested by the Delhi Police.

Omar pressed for a time-bound probe by the National Investigation Agency into the entire episode amid reports that Shah, a Kupwara resident, was returning home to surrender before the state police when he was nabbed by the Delhi Police.

The J&K Government has also sought details regarding Shah’s arrest from the Delhi Police. The issue figured in the J-K Assembly too with some legislators drawing the attention of Speaker Mubarak Gul to Shah’s arrest.

“The members have raised the issue of (Shah's) arrest in the House. We have taken up the matter with Delhi Police,” said J-K Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo. "We don't have any details about his arrest. Whenever we get them, we will share it with the House," Kichloo told the state Assembly today.

Delhi Police, on its part, contested the J-K Government’s claims that Shah had arrived in India to surrender. Shah, who was apprehended at Gorakhpur near the Indo-Nepal border on March 20, had a “broad intention” of carrying out a fidayeen attack in Delhi, possibly on Holi, said Delhi Police officials.

“The J-K Police didn’t even know Liyaqat would arrive in India from Nepal. It is an afterthought on their part (to make this claim),” Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell- Delhi Police), SN Srivastva, said. “If the J&K Police were aware of his surrender, then do they have some documents to prove it?”, he asked. Another officer said: “If Liyaqat planned to surrender to the J&K Police, then there should have been some form of communication. He was illegally crossing over from Nepal”.

The police also claimed that the Pakistani passport that Liyaqat used to travel to Nepal was given to him by HM leader, Ghazi Nazruddin and one, Farooq Qureshi.

Srivastva said the Delhi Police had “specific inputs” about Liyaqat arriving in India to “coordinate and supervise” the fidayeen attack with terror recruits in Delhi. “We interrogated him and he led us to a hotel in Delhi, where he had to meet two men for planning the targets of the attack,” said the officer. He said three hand grenades, 220 gram plastic explosives, an AK-56 rifle with two magazines containing 30 cartridges each and dry fruits were found in a hotel room.

Earlier, NC MLA Nasir Aslam Sogami said in the Assembly that Shah was returning home to surrender. MLA of People’s Democratic Forum Hakim Mohammed Yasin and Independent MLA Engineer Abdul Rahid urged the state government to intervene in the matter.