Two close relatives of Mushtaq Zargar, one of the three militants released as part of the 1999 Kandahar hijack prisoner swap, are among the 20 accused who have been arrested by the J&K Police in the lynching of Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohammad Ayub Pandith in old Srinagar last month.
The police on Monday claimed that it had so far arrested 20 accused in the lynching case and one more accused, Sajad Ahmad Gilkar, had been killed in an encounter in Budgam on July 12. Police sources on Tuesday said the two nephews of Zargar were among the 20 arrested in the case. They identified the arrested duo as Adil Siraj and Dawood, both residents of Ganai Mohalla in old city. All the arrested except one are from downtown city.
A police officer said both nephews of Zargar were notorious stone-throwers and had cases registered against them. “Out of the 20 arrested, over a dozen are chronic protesters and stone-throwers. The three youth who were injured when the DSP fired in self-defence while being heckled have also been arrested in the case,” the police officer added. DSP Pandit was stripped and lynched by a mob outside the historical Jamia Masjid in old Srinagar on June 22, when people were observing Shab-e-Qadr (night of power), and had gathered for congregational prayers. The police have constituted a special investigation team (SIT) headed by Superintendent of Police Sajad Shah for speedy investigation into the lynching case.
Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Muneer Khan on Monday said the hunt was on for the other accused in the case.
However, family members of some of the arrested claimed that they had nothing to do with the lynching incident. “My son has nothing to do with the incident. I presented my son after being summoned by the police. We did not know that he had been named in the FIR,” the father of one of the accused said, pleading not to be named. “There have been many instances when families have brought their children to the police on their own.”
Mushtaq Zargar’s 2 nephews among 20 held in DSP’s Lynching case
