Hizbul commander behind south Kashmir car blast arrested

Srinagar, April 21 (IANS) A divisional commander of separatist guerrilla group, Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), who had masterminded the car bomb explosion in south Kashmir last month has been arrested, police said Saturday.

'Around 8 p.m. yesterday (Friday), a naka (search) party intercepted a car on the main road at Ladermad in Pulwama district.

While the driver of the car alighted from the vehicle, another person in the car tried to escape. The naka party made a courageous effort and nabbed him on the road. He was identified as Latif Ahmed Dar alias Massod Saini, a divisional commander of HM,' Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, S.M. Sahai told a media conference in Pulwama district.

Sahai said the guerrilla was active since January 2008 and is involved in many cases of militancy especially in the recent improvised explosive device (IED) blast which took place at Bijbehara in south Kashmir's Anantnag district March 22.

'The arrested militant commander is also involved in the killing of one released militant namely Showkat Ahmed Rather as well as delivering threats to elected panches/sarpanches (village council members/headmen) of the area,' he said.

'During questioning, Saini confessed about plans of IED blasts also. On his instance, more than 100 kg of RDX and detonators were recovered at village Gulzarpora Awantipora (Pulwama),' Sahai said, terming the arrest of the militant a major breakthrough in the anti-militancy operations of the local police.