‘Sandeep Involved in attacks, weapon-snatching, and robbery’
Srinagar: The police have arrested a close aide of slain Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Bashir Lashkari, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Muneer Ahmad Khan, said on Monday.
Addressing a press conference at Police Control Room in Batmaloo, Srinagar, the IGP said that they have busted a module of Lashkar-e-Toiba by arresting Sandeep Kumar, alias ‘Adil’, a Hindu aide of Bashir Lashkari, a resident of the Muzaffarnagar area of Uttar Pradesh.
Bashir Lashkari was recently killed in an encounter with the forces. Sandeep Sharma, a non-local was in the same house where Lashkari took shelter, Khan said.
Lashkari, who carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was killed along with another Lashkar militant by the government forces in Dialgam in Anantnag district of Kashmir on Saturday. Two civilians, including a woman, were killed when government forces allegedly opened fire on protesting locals near the encounter site.
The IGP said that Sandeep was found complicit in a number of cases including an attack on Army convoy at Lower Munda Qazigund, a weapon snatching incident at Guard posted at residence of Justice Attar’s Anchidoora, and an attack on Police Party of Achabal, in which 6 police personnel were killed.
The top cop said that Sandeep was also involved in militant attack on policemen in Achabal that left six cops, including an SHO dead. “He was also involved in bank robbery cases.”
Khan said that the militants of Lashkar took help of Sandeep to loot many ATMs as well, in Anantnag and Bijbehara, and they also indulged in “immoral activities” in the villages.
“He (Sandeep) was a criminal, he got in touch with Lashkar through one Shakoor of Sopore,” the IGP further added.
IGP said that Sandeep Sharma, son of Ram Sharma was detained for questioning after he was rescued from the house where Bashir Lashkari was killed in a gunfight with forces in Brenti-Batpora village in Dialgam area of Islamabad district.
