Police, intel agencies grill PDP dist chief

Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Doda, September 15

Over two days have passed since suspected militants snatched rifle of a Personal Security Officer (PSO) of PDP district president, Kishtwar, Nasir Sheikh, the police and intelligence agencies continue to grill the PDP leader for the last two days.

Several teams of intelligence agencies from Jammu and New Delhi reached Kishtwar and questioned Sheikh over the incident.

Sources told The Tribune that on a daily basis teams were reaching Sheikh’s house at Lanyil, on outskirts of Kishtwar town, and grilling him as how militants managed to enter the house and got hold of the PSO and snatched his rifle.

“Immediately after the snatching incident, the police had reached Sheikh’s house and taken him to the SSP, Kishtwar’s office, where he was asked to give details of the incident. He had given minute by minute details to the police and now various agencies are again coming to question him,” said a source.

The source said Sheikh had informed the police that on September 12 night, three masked militants entered his house around 10 pm and took the entire family hostage. “Suspected militants had given him two options — either to kill him or to leave him only if he hands over the rifle of his PSO. As the PSO was not in Sheikh’s house at the time, the militants took the family hostage. They waited for sunrise and told the PDP leader to call his PSO home,” the source said.

“Once the PSO reached Sheikh’s house, he was also taken hostage and rifle was snatched. The entire family was locked in different rooms and the house was locked by militants before boarding the vehicle of Sheikh’s brother. They fled around 11 am on September 13,” the source added.

The police was informed by the PSO, who had managed to jump from the second floor of the house. But by that time the militants managed to flee. Later in the day on September 13, the police had recovered the vehicle used by the militants to flee from Dul road and since then they are looking for the militants.