Liaqat Shah arrest: NIA questions 2 Delhi Police officers

New Delhi: Two officers of Delhi Police’s elite Special Cell including DCP Sanjeev Yadav were questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the arrest of Liaqat Shah and presenting him as a Hizbul Mujahideen militant. Besides Yadav, Assistant Commissioner of Police Manish Chandra was also quizzed by sleuths of NIA. NIA is probing the circumstances leading to the arrest of Shah, who was returning from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) as per surrender policy of the Jammu and Kashmir government. According to the surrender policy, youths who had crossed over to PoK in early 1990s could return to India through any route and join the national mainstream. The statements of the two officers were recorded by the NIA, the sources said, adding the focus of the questions by probe agency was on the source of the intelligence input received by Delhi Police. [caption id=“attachment_1044795” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Liaqat Shah after his arrest.[/caption] The two officers were not forthcoming with the information and it was expected that NIA will again summon them along with other members of the Special Cell who were engaged in the operation. Shah was arrested on 20 March while crossing the Indo-Nepal border in Gorakhpur with his family. While the family proceeded to Kashmir, Shah was brought to Delhi and arrested on charges of plotting terror strikes in Delhi, a charge he denied. His arrest led to bitter exchange of words between Jammu and Kashmir Police and Delhi Police. The incident also saw an intervention by state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who demanded an NIA probe. Shah got a bail on 17 May and is at present in his home in North Kashmir. Delhi Police is already on backfoot in this case as the CCTV footage of a lodge where Shah was supposed to collect arms was damaged and the sketches prepared about his associate had no basis, the sources said. Besides this, the man supposed to be accomplice of Shah who allegedly dumped the arms and ammunition in the room had given the barracks of Special Cell, Lodhi road as his address while booking the room. The guest register of Haji Arafat Guest House in the Jama Masjid area was submitted in the court by the NIA for issuing a non-bailable warrant against Sabir Khan Pathan, a native of Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh, who is claimed by Delhi Police as one of the accomplices of Shah. Pathan has gone missing since the case came to light and a team of NIA had to draw a blank during their visit to his native place. The NIA has already informed the court that the grenades allegedly meant for Shah had no triggering mechanism and were of Indian-origin. Shah had arrived with his third wife and a daughter from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) where he was living for the past 17 years after crossing the Line of Control in the early 90s. Omar had expressed unhappiness over the incident saying such arrests could have an impact on the rehabilitation policy, a brain child of his government which had seen over 1500 people returning so far. PTI