The Jammu and Kashmir administration has ordered that airports in Srinagar and Jammu are to be “immediately” brought under the security cover of the Central Industrial Security Force after the arrest of Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh, PTI reported on Thursday.
Singh, who was caught with Hizbul Mujahideen militants in a car last week in Kulgam, was posted as the deputy superintendent of police at the Srinagar airport.
The two sensitive airports will be handed over to the CISF by January 31, the order issued on Wednesday by Jammu and Kashmir home department to the director general of police said.
CISF is the national civil aviation security force and at present guards 61 airports, including the ones in Delhi and Mumbai.
The government said this proposal of replacement has engaged authorities for “quite some time”, but it “acquired immediacy” after Singh’s arrest.
The Jammu and Kashmir police have also been directed to make arrangements for accommodation, transport and other logistical requirements of the armed contingent of the CISF on a quick basis.
The state administration on Wednesday also “forfeited” the Sher-e-Kashmir Police Medal for Gallantry awarded to Singh. The administration’s order said that Singh’s act amounted to disloyalty and brought the police force into disrepute.
On Tuesday, reports said that Singh sheltered the Hizbul Mujahideen militants he was caught with last Saturday in his home. The senior policeman, who was suspended on Monday, lived right next to the Army’s XV Corps headquarters at Badami Bagh cantonment.
Singh escorted the militants from Shopian in South Kashmir to his home on Friday and allowed them to stay overnight. The militants were identified as top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Naveed Babu, and his accomplices Irfan and Rafi. The four reportedly set out for Jammu on Saturday morning, and planned to go to New Delhi from there.
Singh was absent from duty on Saturday, and had applied for leave till Thursday, police officials said. Singh was interrogated after being arrested. His office at Srinagar airport, where he was posted in the anti-hijacking squad, has been sealed. Two AK-47 rifles from the car, and a rifle and two pistols were recovered from his home.
In 2013, Afzal Guru, the prime accused in the 2001 Parliament attack case, had claimed that Singh had asked him to accompany one of the attackers to Delhi and arrange his stay there.
Also read: Who is Davinder Singh, the Kashmir police officer arrested in a car with Hizbul militants?
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!