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| On way back from UP, fugitive nabbed from BJP leader’s car | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, Dec 16: In weird development being wrapped by authorities in mystery, the Special Operation Group of Rajouri Police today arrested a well known ‘Hindu militant’ while he was traveling with a senior BJP leader in his private car.
Sat Pal, a former peon in tehsil office in Kalakote was absconding since 2004 after spending nearly four years in active militancy in Rajouri district and elsewhere. He was associated with Hizbul Mujahideen and was a close aide of HM Pir ‘Panchal Commander’ Farid Ahmed, believed to be a trusted lieutenant of United Jehad Council chairman Syed Salahuddin.
Based on a source generated information an SOG team of Rajouri district led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Farooq Qesar Malik under supervision of SSP Rajouri Rajesh Yadav arrested Sham Lal from Sunderbani on Jammu-Rajouri road. He was traveling with BJP leader Master Dev Raj and his Personal Security Officer in latter’s private car. Dev Raj has contested recent assembly election on BJP ticket from Darhal constituency.
Sat Pal was reportedly on way home from Uttar Pradesh and Police had information about him from the origin. Sources said after he reached Jammu, the Police were tracing his movement through his cell phone location. “We were able to spot his location around 2:30 PM on Rajouri Road and a naka was laid near Sunderbani where he was finally arrested at 4:30 PM”, said a Police source wishing not to be identified.
Sat Pal was taken into custody by Police and shifted to the Joint Interrogation Center. Many senior Police officers when contacted were either tight lipped or shared details contracting each other. While Police Intelligence sources said that BJP leader Master Dev Raj was plotting surrender of Sat Pal in connivance with the Police but the SSP Rajouri contradicted this. A Police officer said, “Dev Raj had kept SSP and DIG Rajouri informed about arrival of Sat Pal from UP and he wanted Police to arrest him”.
However, when contacted SSP Rajouri Rajesh Yadav said that Dev Raj was not aware of Sat Pal’s past antecedents and this was just by chance that he was traveling with him. Confirming that Sat Pal has been taken to interrogation cell for questioning, Rajesh said BJP leader Dev Raj was let off. DIG Saini was not available for comments.
An Inspector of Rajouri Police who part of the team that arrested Sat Pal later said that Dev Raj was very much in custody of Police and he was being questioned. Giving further details, the Police officer said that Sat Pal’s brother Chuni was driver of a tractor owned by Dev Raj and therefore the BJP leader was well aware of antecedents of the militant.
Police sources said escaping arrest, Sat Pal was absconding since 2004 and the Police were on look out. On his preliminary interrogation Sat Pal is reported to have revealed that moved to Uttar Pradesh where got married to daughter of one Shiv Charan Yadav keeping family in dark about his background. Recently he is reported to have moved to Mumbai.
It may be mentioned here that Sat Pal was one among 40 odd Hindu militants operating in Rajouri and Doda districts. Seven of these 40 militants were identified by the Police. One had surrendered, two killed and five including Sham Lal were absconding.
Of most prominent Hindu militants operating in the area were Sham Lal and Kirpal Singh belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen and Sanjay to the Lashkar-e-Toiba. All of them have crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for arms training.
It was on November 9, 2004 when Manoj Kumar Manhas, a local Hindu militant surrendered himself before the security forces that an alert was sounded indicating that more local Hindu youth could have joined the ranks of the separatist militants in the Jammu region of the state.
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