Davinder was under surveillance before being arrested: J&K Police

SRINAGAR: DSP Davinder Singh was under surveillance for several days before he was arrested along with top Hizb-ul Mujahideen commander Syed Naveed and two associates on January 11, according to officials in the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Police sources alleged Singh was in touch with Naveed over phone and the anti-militancy grid in Shopian was alerted when Naveed made consecutive phone calls on what he assumed was a secure line. He called his brother studying outside the UT and Singh on the same day, hinting at his possible travel plans in both conversations.

Singh may have been on surveillance even on the day he received a delegation of foreign diplomats, including US ambassador. He was in charge of the anti-hijacking unit and cops monitoring Singh were apprehensive that he would transport the two militants to Jammu from Srinagar airport, where he could have easily bypassed security considering his position. “They were relaxed when the car moved towards south Kashmir after it hit the highway in Indira Nagar. Otherwise, it could have been a high drama in or around the airport,” a senior government functionary privy to details of the operation told ET.