Cops search for another politician with terror link

The police allege the Congressman was hand-in-glove with the militants and that his house was used as a hideout by the militants. ‘‘He is an OGW (Over Ground Worker),’’ claimed a senior police officer. ‘‘He was using his status of being a Congress councilor as a cover.’’ The events unfolded on Tuesday evening, when a joint operations group of Special Operations Group (SOG) of Police and the 44 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), on a tip-off, raided Dahl’s house. When the militants in the house refused to surrender, a fierce gun battle erupted that lasted for a night. The Army suspended the operation during for the night only to resume it in the morning.

Later, the militants gunned down were identified by the army as Bilal Ahmad Sheikh alias Saifullah and Shabir Ahmad Najar alias Abu Talha. Saifullah, the spokesman said, was the district commander of the HuM, while his accomplice Talha was a battalion commander.

This is the third incident in which a municipal councillor was charged with involvement in militancy. On Friday, the police had arrested a PDP councillor from Srinagar. Abdul Wahid Dar, police said, was a Laskhar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative and had planned two suicide attacks on Mufti Mohammad Sayeed when he was the chief minister of state. Earlier, the Mumbai Police arrested a National Conference councillor, Arshad Badroo, from Nagpada, allegedly for planning attacks in the metropolitan city.