Police in Jammu and Kashmir have claimed they have solved 16 "militant attacks" in Srinagar in the last year-and-a-half after arresting one of their own constables, who they alleged had gone rogue and collaborated with another militant to launch the attacks.

The constable, identified as Abdul Rashid Shigan, was working with the security wing and was deputed at the residence of the Bandipore Superintendent of Police, when he was arrested. His accomplice, Imtiyaz Ahmad Gojri, has also been arrested and had been jailed in the past for militant activities, the police said.

Inspector-General of Police S M Sahai said that investigations into the attacks in the city over the last 18 months found that many of them had been owned up by a man who claimed to be the spokesman of Kashmir Islamic Movement (KIC). "Police finally managed to zero in on Shigan and his accomplice who is a released militant," Sahai said. The KIC was suspected to be an affiliate of Hizbul Mujahideen, he added.

Shigan's handwriting allegedly matched with that in the press statements issued by the KIC claiming the attacks, Sahai said, adding that Shigan would resume his duty as a constable after carrying out an attack. "We have also recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition from the house of Shigan," Sahai said.

He said Shigan was discharged from the police department while undergoing basic training after he was allegedly found involved in militant activities. He was also detained under the Public Safety Act but had to be reinstated in the force following court orders, Sahai said.

The police said Shigan and his accomplice had admitted their involvement in the attacks on J&K Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, on the Civil Secretariat and the Army's Tatoo ground, and the killing of police officers in the city.

The arms and equipment seized included four Chinese pistols, six pistol magazines, 100 rounds of pistol ammunition, five grenades, two AK 47 rifles, 16 AK 47 magazines, a large quantity of AK ammunition and one IED, they said.

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