Davinder Singh was arrested on Saturday along with Naveed alias Babu, another militant Rafi Rather and an alleged Over Ground Worker Irfan Dar, in a car on highway in Kulgam district, when they were on way to Jammu. J&K police currently interrogating Singh and Naveed are also investigating, whether they were on way to execute any big attack or not. Who Davinder Singh is and how the Kashmir cop was caught with Hizbul militants

SRINAGAR: Interrogation of J&K police Deputy SP Davinder Singh, who was arrested along with wanted Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Syed Naveed and two others on January 13, revealed that Singh had ferried the same militant to Jammu in 2018 as well.

Singh was arrested on Saturday along with Naveed alias Babu, another militant Rafi Rather and an alleged Over Ground Worker Irfan Dar, a law graduate, in a car on highway in Kulgam district, when they were on way to Jammu.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Naveed’s mother and one brother is currently in Jammu and he may have paid money to Singh to ensure his safe passage across the Jawahar Tunnel for a brief ‘cooling period’ there. J&K police currently interrogating Singh and Naveed are also investigating, whether they were on way to execute any big attack or not.

Naveed was one of the most wanted HM commanders in Sothern Kashmir and police was actively looking for him, especially after the spree of killings of non-locals involved in the apple trade in autumn 2018. The amount of money exchanged for the ‘safe passage’ is still under investigation. The two militants arrested with Singh, carried the reward of around 20 lakhs on their heads.

“Singh had taken Naveed to Jammu last year as well and therefore they trusted each other. Nobody probably came to know about last year’s incident. Dar seems to have played the role of intermediary in this deal as well,” a senior police official, privy to developments of the case told ET. J&K police raided his one of his residences in Srinagar and recovered ammunition from there.

According to police, Singh and Naveed had come in touch with each other in Pulwama of southern Kashmir, where Singh was posted as DySP (DR). J&K police is also investigating whether Dar brought them together and arranged the initial meeting as well. Dar’s father has been killed some years back, when he was attempting to ex-filtrate from Kashmir. Dar was driving the car on Saturday, Singh was sitting on navigator’s seat and the two militants were sitting on back seat, when DIG of Southern Kashmir intercepted and apprehended the in Alstop of Kulgam of southern Kashmir.

Singh was inducted in J&K police as Sub Inspector in 1990 and joined anti-militancy Special Operations Group of J&K police in 1994. Singh was currently in-charge of anti high-jacking unit at J&K police at Srinagar’s airport, where he received a delegation of foreign diplomats including US ambassador on January on January 9.

J&K police officials claim that he owns more than three properties in J&K and other neighbouring states. He was involved in many controversial cases after 1994 and pushed into oblivion in the department after 2001. However, former Director General of J&K police, K Rajendra, immediately after he took over, brought him back into the mainstream of police department. Singh was given gallantry award in 2018.

In 2004, parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged in February 2013, in a letter mentioned that Singh was the officer, who asked him to transport ‘Muhammad’ a key accused the parliament attack case, to a rented accommodation in New Delhi from Srinagar.