Punjab: Terror module linked to JeM busted, 3 held for cab driver's murder

Chandigarh, Sep 2 (IANS) Punjab Police have busted a terror module linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and arrested three Jammu and Kashmir-based men in connection with the abduction and murder case of a cab driver, Anil Kumar, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.

Those arrested have been identified as Sahil Bashir (19), a resident of Kupwara, Munish Singh (22), a resident of Doda, and Aijaz Ahmed Khan (22), a resident of Qalamabad.

Police teams have also recovered the snatched white-coloured Maruti Swift Dzire and the .32 bore country-made pistol used in the crime from the possession of the accused.

In her complaint, Kumar’s wife Sudha Devi had said her husband, who was driving a taxi, on Friday left home to take a ride from Kharar to the railway station in Chandigarh. Later, she kept on calling her husband continuously, but both her husband's mobile phones were switched off.

DGP Yadav said in connection with the abduction and murder of cab driver Kumar, a resident of Nayagaon in Mohali, a case was registered after preliminary investigation revealed that three unidentified people had snatched his vehicle. Considering the grave and sensitive nature of the matter, multiple police teams were constituted, and acting with speed and precision, all three accused were apprehended, he said.

The DGP said the accused, Sahil Bashir, is a wanted individual in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act case registered at the police station in Qalamabad in Handwara. His brother, Sajad Ahmad Shah, had earlier been arrested with a cache of weapons and materials linked to JeM, he said, adding that both are identified as overground workers of the JeM.

Sharing operation details, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Ropar Range) Harcharan Bhullar said acting swiftly on the complaint, separate teams of Mohali Police were formed and the accused were arrested from Batala and Gurdaspur areas. He said during interrogation, the accused confessed to having fatally shot the driver after an altercation and later disposed of the body in Mohali.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Mohali), Harmandeep Hans, said the interrogation of the accused revealed that they had booked the cab on the pretext of going from Kharar to the Chandigarh railway station, who had first asked taxi driver Kumar to go to the Airport Road via Phase 3B2 Mohali. When Kumar took the accused to Kandala village, they took him down from the vehicle and shot him dead, before escaping with the car and other belongings, he said.

The SSP said that following disclosures of the accused, police teams have retrieved the mortal remains of the deceased. Three bullet shells were also recovered from near the body, he added.

--IANS

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