Police search Budgam family’s house where LeT militant hid

Srinagar, March 29

Days after a local Lashkar-e-Toiba militant was killed in a gunfight in Budgam district, the J&K Police carried out the search of a house where the militant had been allegedly hiding.

The police searched the house of cab driver Maqsood Ahmad Khan of Check Marg, Arizal, after obtaining a warrant from the competent court. Khan is already in police custody.

A police spokesman said the assistance of civil independent witnesses was taken during the search. “On the strength of the search warrant, the police carried out the search. The documentary work was also completed on the spot. The material recovered during the search will be duly processed for judicial endorsement. The investigation of the case is under progress,” he said.

A Lashkar militant, Shafat Hussain Wani of Baramulla, was killed on Sunday in a brief gunfight at Arizal. In the shootout, Khan’s sister Humaira Bano, 17, was also injured.

While the police blame Khan for giving shelter to the militant, the family contest the police version

“Had the militant been hiding in our house, forces would have destroyed it by explosives,” a sister of Khan asked. The police said a case had already been registered against Khan. — TNS