NEW DELHI : Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday arrested decorated police officer Davinder Singh along with two terrorists while they were on the Srinagar-Jammu highway, following a tip-off that a wanted terrorist was travelling out of Shopian.

Singh, who was awarded the President’s Police Medal for gallanty last Independence Day, is posted as the deputy superintendent of police at Srinagar airport. He was arrested along with militants Naveed Babu and Altaf.

The office of the inspector general of South Kashmir had received the tip-off about the movement of a wanted Hizbul Mujahideen militant.

“When a tip-off was received that Naveed Babu was travelling in a car out of Shopian, the contents of the call raised suspicions. It was felt that a police official was also involved in his movement and the office of IG was informed. Thereafter, when the operation was carried out, it was found that Singh was involved," said a Jammu and Kashmir police official on Sunday.

In 2013, Afzal Guru who was executed for the 2001 Parliament attack, had confessed that Singh had sought his assistance to “move" militants out of the Valley, an official aware of the developments said. The probe, however, was in Singh’s favour.

Singh’s arrest and his suspected involvement in ferrying militants outside the Valley have put the focus on the growing number of police officials in the region who have taken to militancy.

In September 2018, a special police officer posted with People’s Democratic Party member of legislative assembly (MLA) Aijaz Ahmad Mir fled with at least eight weapons, including the licensed pistol of the legislator, from his official residence in Srinagar.

Deputy inspector general of South Kashmir Atul Goyal supervised the operation on Sunday that led to the arrest of Singh and the two militants. The car in which they were travelling was stopped at a police barricade at Mir Bazar in Kulgam of south Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir police officials said that two AK-47 rifles were seized from the car. A search was also conducted at Singh’s residence, from which the police seized two pistols and one AK-47 rifle.

Other officials familiar with the operation said they were tracking Naveed Babu’s movements and the trio’s location was traced when he made a phone call to his brother.

Meanwhile on Sunday, three most wanted Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said. The terrorists, Umer Fayaz Lone alias “Hamad Khan" of Seer village, Faizan Hamid of Mandoora and Adil Bashir Mir alias “Abu Dujana" of Monghama, were wanted for their role in terror crimes, including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities, a police spokesman said.

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