On January 11, 2019, a police officer from Jammu and Kashmir, previously honored with the President’s medal for bravery was caught accompanying two terrorists. It is alleged that the policeman was traveling in a vehicle on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway, on their way to the national capital of New Delhi, as per police sources. The policeman has been identified as Davinder Singh, currently engaged as the Deputy Superintendent of Police [DSP] posted at the Srinagar International airport. Allegedly, Davinder was caught at Wanpoh in the Kulgam district with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Naveed Babu. Naveed Baby is accused of being involved in the killing of 11 non-local workers including truck drivers and laborers in south Kashmir last year in the month of October and November. It is said that the rationale behind the killings was to drive away from the non-locals of the area, out of Kashmir. Further, it was also an attempt to target the thriving apple industry in Kashmir, post the announcement of the scrapping of Article 370 by the Central Government on August 05, 2019. As per the information provided by the police and sources, the activities of Naveed Babu were on track for quite some time, after they could identify him through a phone call to his brother. Being on the radar of the police, they were able to identify a vehicle that Babu used for conveyance and intercepted it. It was then that it came to notice that Babu was being accompanied by former Special Police Official (SPO), alleged to be his accomplice- Asif and Davinder Singh, who was the DSP. All three were said to be traveling at Wanpoh.
Singh was awarded with the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry.
The involvement of the DSP is of concern as he is a decorated officer of the country, awarded with the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry on the last Independence Day. Both Baby and Mr. Singh have been arrested by the police and since then the police have carried out multiple raids in Srinagar and some regions of South Kashmir. The police have informed that by way of these raids, they have managed to recover a huge cache of arms and ammunition, allegedly stashed by Singh and other accomplice terrorists. From the house of the DSP, Mr. Singh, police have recovered an AK-47 rifle and two pistols. There were other seizures based on the confession of Naveed Babu. The police have revealed that their ongoing investigation had pointed out towards the involvement of a police officer, helping the terrorist to go to New Delhi. They further inform, that on the same day on which they had information that the terrorists are traveling, Davinder Singh was absent from duty on a pre-applied leave application.
Davinder Singh was named by Afzal Guru indicating his involvement in Parliament Attack, 2001:
This is not the first instance where the name of Davinder Singh has come into the spotlight. A letter written by Afzal Guru, who was convicted in the parliament attack in 2013, claims were made that the officer had asked him to accompany a parliament attack accused to Delhi and take care of his accommodation. The previous involvement of Davinder Singh has reignited the debate over links between the security establishment and Kashmir militants, as well as the role of Afzal Guru in the 2001 terrorist attack on the Parliament. Despite his name being taken by Afzal Guru, his role in the 2001 parliament attacks were never investigated by the authorities. However, his name in the recent aid to terrorists takes us back to the confession by Afzal Guru.
The Inspector-General of Police, Jammu, and Kashmir, Vijay Kumar stated in his press conference that in the past Singh has contributed to many anti-militancy operations. However, he went ahead to say that his involvement in the recent aid to the militants on their way to Jammu is a heinous crime. He said, that the officer will be treated at par with the militants. The IG denied being aware of the connection between Davinder Singh and Afzal Guru. He assured that if such a connection exists, the police will look into the matter. However, social media is taken with a frenzy with people tracing back to the letter by Afzal Guru having named Davinder Singh. Naveed Babu, the militant whom Davinder Singh was accompanying is said to be a top commander of the Lakshar-e-Tayyaba and Altaf of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. Naveed was on the radar of the police, wanted for his role in the killing of non-local laborers from Bihar and West Bengal in Kashmir in October. Despite their arrest, it is not clear why Naveed, Altaf, and Singh were traveling to New Delhi. It draws all the more suspicion as we are nearing the Republic Day on January 26, when the entire national capital region is on high alert, anticipating a high profile attack.
In the letter written by Afzal Guru, mentions of Davinder Singh are concerning the men who later attacked parliament, with Singh being their guru. The letter recounts how Afzal and Davinder met for the first time in 2000. There is also the mention of one Shanty Singh, who is the assistant of Davinder. Afzal in his letter places allegations on Shanty to have tortured him at the Humhamma STF camp for extortion of money from him. He then recounts their meeting in 2001, right before the parliament was attacked. His letter reads:
“One day Altaf took me to Davinder Singh (D.S.P). D.S. told me that I had to do a small job for him that has to took one man to Delhi as I was well aware of Delhi and has to manage a rented house for him. Since I was not knowing the man but I suspected that this man is not Kashmiri as he did not speak in Kashmiri but I was helpless to do what Dravinder told me. I took him to Delhi. One day he told me that he wants to purchase a car. Thus I went with him to Karol Bagh. He purchased the car. Then in Delhi, he used to meet different persons and both of us he Mohammad and me used to get the different phone calls from Davinder Singh.”
The references in his letter to a man named Mohammad was one of the men who attacked parliament on December 13, 2001. Mohammad is said to have been shot within the premises. Afzal Guru was hanged for his involvement in the parliament attack in the year 2013. Guru claimed in his article that phone records would establish the involvement of Davinder Singh. It would point towards the communication between Singh Mohammad. However, all his claims were ignored and left the probe further. The operation which leads to the arrest of Davinder Singh was headed by the deputy inspector general of South Kashmir, Atul Goyal. They were caught at the police barricade at Mir Bazar in Kulgam of South Kashmir on January 11, 2019. As per an eye-witness, the DIG lost his cool on seeing the involvement of the DSP.