New Delhi: Suspected Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Liaqat Shah was on Saturday sent to judicial custody till April 12 by a Delhi court. A controversy broke over Shah's arrest by Delhi Police, which claimed that he was a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist who had come to the national capital to plan a suicide attack. However, the charges were contested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police saying that he was returning to the Valley for surrendering.
Even the family of Liaaqat at Lalpura, Kupwara in North Kashmir said that they had informed the authorities about his return, which was agreed upon. Kashmiri youth who had crossed over to Pakistan-occupied -Kashmir (PoK) in 1990s have been returning to the Valley via Nepal.
The family members of Liaaqat claimed that he entered into India through Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and he presented himself to border guarding force - SSB. However, instead of handing him to state Police, Liaqat was given to Delhi Police. Jammu and Kashmir Police also said that Delhi Police had informed them about Liaaqat and claimed that he should be sent to the Valley as he was going to surrender, official sources said.
Liaqat's arrest may now deter youths from PoK who want to shun the path of violence and join the national mainstream, the sources said. As an important in Confidence Building Measure, the state government entered into an unwritten understanding with the Union Home Ministry that any youth who had joined militant ranks in 1990s and wishing to return via Nepal would be allowed to do it provided he surrenders before army or police in the valley.
This way, the sources said, many such youths had returned quietly without any sensation being created. In many cases these returnees had helped security agencies in understanding various terror groups operating from Pakistan and PoK.
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