HC blast accused gives J&K cops the slip

EVEN as the Jammu and Kashmir Police are trying to confirm reports about the killing of Junaid Akram Malik by his own accomplices in Kishtwar,another Hizbul Mujahideen militant wanted in connection with the September 2011 Delhi High Court blast managed to give it the slip last week.

Admitting it,Inspector General of Police,Jammu zone,Dilbagh Singh said that police and security forces had carried out a joint operation at Patimahal and located several Hizbul militants,including Chotta Hafiz and Akhtar Hussain. In the encounter that followed,while Hussain had been killed,Hafiz — wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the high court blast along with Amir Kamal and Junaid Malik — had escaped.

The NIA has announced a cash award of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to the arrest of the three wanted accused in the blast. The operation to hunt them has so far cost lives of two Army jawans and a constable.

The IGP also admitted that they had not been able to confirm yet if Junaid was dead,amid reports that he had been killed by his own accomplices who feared he could surrender. Junaid’s elder brother Waseem Akram Malik,who was studying medicine in Dhaka,is already under arrest. He is among the three boys from Kishtwar arrested in connection with the September 7 blast.