A court in Delhi on Friday granted bail to suspended Jammu and Kashmir Police Deputy Superintendent Davinder Singh, who was arrested in January after being caught with Hizbul Mujahideen militants, PTI reported. Irfan Shafi Mir, a co-accused in the case, was also released on bail.
Singh was initially arrested by the National Investigation Agency on January 10 and then re-arrested by the Delhi Police on March 14. Singh will continue to be in jail as he is yet to get bail in the separate case filed by the National Investigation Agency.
The court granted the bail after the special cell of the Delhi Police, which was investigating the case, failed to file a chargesheet within 90 days from his arrest as prescribed under law, their lawyer MS Khan said. Singh and Mir were granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties of like amount.
The case against them relates to planning/ execution of terror attacks in Delhi and other parts of the country. The Delhi Police had charged them under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, relating to conspiracy for terror acts, and under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, which pertains to criminal conspiracy. The special cell had brought Singh to the Capital from the Hira Nagar Jail in Jammu and Kashmir.
In its FIR, the police had alleged that Hizbul Mujahideen commander of Shopian district, along with others, was planning to execute terror attacks in Delhi and other parts of the country, and was also going to carry out “targeted killings of protected persons”. It further alleged that the terror outfit was recruiting and training the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, and Punjab for carrying out the attacks.
The case
Singh was posted as the deputy superintendent of police at the Srinagar airport. He had allegedly escorted the militants from Shopian in South Kashmir to his home 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 January 11 morning, and planned to go to New Delhi from there. Singh was also seen along with the foreign delegation that visited Jammu and Kashmir.
On January 18, the NIA said it has registered a case against Singh and his accomplices under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act. On January 15, the Jammu and Kashmir administration “forfeited” the Sher-e-Kashmir Police Medal for Gallantry awarded to Singh. The administration’s order said that his acts amounted to disloyalty and brought the police force into disrepute.
Singh’s office at Srinagar airport, where he was posted in the anti-hijacking squad, was 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.
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