Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police said Tuesday that reports claiming that suspended officer Davinder Singh, who was arrested along with two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, was awarded a gallantry medal by the Union Home Ministry are not true. The recipient of the medal was another officer with the same name, it said.
The DySP was arrested Saturday in Kulgam district’s Mir Bazar while he was ferrying the two terrorists – Naveed Baba and Altaf – in a car. A lawyer, who was working as overground worker for terror outfits, was also in the vehicle.
Some media reports have claimed that Davinder was awarded the police medal for meritorious services on Independence Day last year.
“It is to clarify that Dysp Davinder Singh is not awarded any Gallantry or Meritorious Medal by MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) as has been reported by some media outlets/persons. Only gallantry medal awarded to him during his service is by the erstwhile J&K State on Independence Day 2018,” the Jammu and Kashmir Police said in a tweet.
Davinder who was posted as DySP in the anti-hijacking squad, is currently being grilled by a team of police and intelligence investigators, police said. His office at the Srinagar Airport has been sealed, they informed.
J&K LG GC Murmu’s Advisor Farooq Khan in another development called Davinder a ‘black sheep’ and said that the credit to identify and nab him goes to the police who have a history of making thousands of sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. He said the operations against terrorists would continue till the menace is finished from the Union Territory.
“In any organisation there is a black sheep and he was the one in the police. The credit goes to the police for identifying this black sheep and unveil the conspiracy (which he was hatching with terrorists),” Khan, a retired IPS officer who was instrumental in breaking the backbone of militancy in the 1990s, told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
Khan however, refused to divulge details of the ongoing investigation in the case but said the case would be probed from all angles.
“The investigation into the case is continuing and all aspects will be looked into,” Khan said, adding “I will not like to speak on details of the investigation so far.”
PTI