M A I N   N E W S

How top LeT man Fahadullah landed in J&K Police net
Majid Jahangir/TNS

Sopore, April 24
The J&K Police received a tip-off around 4 pm on April 17 that two militants, including a foreigner, were travelling on a bicycle from apple-rich Chattilora village to Bahrampora. The two places are situated around 2km apart.

The security personnel, however, had no idea that the militants they were going to catch hold of included top Lashkar-e-Toiba man Qari Naveed, alias Fahadullah, of Pakistan. Fahadullah had been on the run for the past four years.

The tip-off about the militants’ movement came after the security agencies persistently kept a close watch on LeT over-ground workers in Sopore town and its neighbouring villages.

After the tip-off that a foreign militant was riding a bicycle along with local militant Shakir of Nowpora, it was decided that security men in civvies would set up nakas on the stretch and be ready for an encounter in case the militants opened fire.

“The security men intercepted the duo around 5.30 pm. They were overpowered and in panic, one of them said he was Fahadullah. He was carrying three grenades and pleaded with them not to kill him,” said a police officer.

Both of them were whisked away to a nearby Army camp. The news about the arrest of two militants, including the top LeT man, was kept secret.

Top police and Army officers reached the Army camp immediately. Fahadullah was injured in an encounter at Chakrotiakhan Badamibagh in Sopore in 2009. “The arrested militant had the bullet injury mark. Other sources also confirmed that the arrested militant was Fahadullah, a resident of Multan in Pakistan,” the police said.

Fahadullah had been putting up at the house of local Urdu scribe Rafiq Malik of Marazigund Rafiabad for the past over three months. “Fahadullah revealed he did not use a mobile phone while staying at Marazigund. He used to travel a distance of around 3 km if he had to make any call. He used to switch off the mobile immediately after making the call,” sources said.

Fahadullah said he had not entered Sopore town ever since the killing of nine militants of the outfit in two separate encounters there in December last. During questioning, Fahadullah gave a tip-off about two militants, Shabir Ahmed Sheikh (alias Shaka) and Hilal Moulvi (alias Khalid). He chatted with them on Facebook and asked them to meet him at the Wagub railway point in Sopore. The two militants did not know that Fahadullah was in police custody.

“Once again men in civvies were sent to intercept Hilal and Shabir. One of the militants, however, recognised the policemen and the duo tried to flee. They were followed and Shabir was killed in the ensuing exchange of fire. Hilal, however, managed to escape,” said a police officer.

Four over-ground workers of the LeT have been arrested since then. The police finally declared the arrest of Fahadullah on April 18.

“Fahadullah had been in touch with commanders across the border and was planning attacks on security forces,” Kashmir IGP Abdul Ghani Mir said.