Under cloud over encounter, BSF officer in Valley faces drug charges

A BSF spokesman said an inquiry has been launched against Singh who is reportedly being questioned at BSF’s Panthachowk camp.

Singh already faces a probe involving the killing of a Kashmiri youth in an allegedly fake encounter, labelling him as a Pak terrorist and later using this incident to lobby for the President’s Gallantry Medal.

This was exposed when constable Subhash Rathore of Singh’s battalion wrote to Director General of BSF Ajai Raj Sharma about the incident. A Court of Inquiry was then ordered. Orders for Singh’s transfer to Mizoram were also issued pending the probe.

But then on August 6, the J&K police arrested Constable Bashir Ahmad while he was trying to sell brown sugar in Bandipore.

A police team led by Station House Officer Suhail Ahmad laid a trap after information that the BSF constable had asked a local chemist to find customers for the brown sugar.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Ahmad has claimed that Singh asked him to take leave and sell the drugs. ‘‘On July, 10, CO Sahib (Singh) called me to his residence at Radar Station camp (Chrar-e-Sharief) and from his VIP briefcase, gave me these three packets. He asked me to take leave and go home to sell it. I told him I had just returned from leave on July 1 (but)…CO Sahib (Singh) told me he would himself grant me leave and asked me to get an application. He then wrote journey with 30 days EL (earned leave) on my application.’’

Ahmad alleged that Singh had asked him to sell these three packets of brown sugar for Rs 1 lakh and hand over the money to him in Mizoram.

When asked why he took such a risk, Constable Ahmad said: ‘‘I didn’t have guts to say no to CO Sahib (Singh).’’

Ahmad has also been interrogated by officers of BSF’s Intelligence wing and the Intelligence Bureau.

The police have registered a case against both Ahmad and Singh under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS). ‘‘We are trying to expose the entire network. We will hopefully get the officer in our custody soon so that we can interrogate him,’’ a police official said. ‘‘We might need to question more BSF officers.’’