On Saturday, the Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh was stopped at a checkpoint on the Jammu-Srinagar highway while travelling in a car with 3 other men.
According to The Times of India, 2 of the other men were wanted Hizbul Mujahideen militants. The 3rd man was a Hizb overground worker (non-combatants who take care of logistics). All 4 men were arrested.
The checkpoint was placed based on specific input that some terrorists would be travelling along that road. However, they were not aware that a high ranking police officer would also be present in the car.
Upon interrogation, Davinder revealed that he had received ₹12 lakh to transport the terrorists to Jammu and then to Chandigarh. From there, they were to go to New Delhi to carry out an attack on Republic Day.
The four men have been booked under various sections of the Indian Arms Act, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Singh had housed the terrorists at his Indira Nagar mansion in Srinagar, right next to the Army’s 15 Corps HQ.
Just last week, he was part of an official team ensuring the security cover for the envoys of 15 countries who visited Kashmir. And last year, Singh was awarded the president’s police medal for anti-militancy operations.
Interestingly, Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru named him in a letter written to his lawyer in 2004. It alleged that it was Singh who ordered him to ferry one of the attackers to Delhi.
The DSP is likely to be stripped of all his awards. As the investigation is still ongoing, and Singh is being interrogated by IB, RAW, and the NIA. As it is a highly sensitive matter, all the facts of the case are not yet available.