“Our sons have no militant links”: Families of two Kashmiris arrested in Delhi

Srinagar: The families of two Kashmiri youth arrested in Delhi on Tuesday allegedly with arms and ammunition rejected the charges levelled against the duo stating that their sons had no militancy links and were innocent.

The Delhi police special cell claimed to have arrested two Kashmiris in Delhi—one a resident of Kupwara and another from Baramulla, and said that two semi-automatic pistols with ten live cartridges were recovered from them.

Talking to news agency KNO, Bashir Ahmad Khatana, father of Muhammad Ashraf from Kupwara, one of the arrested youth refuted the charges levelled against his son and said that his son has no militancy links.

He said that his son had left for home from Delhi on November 4. “He contacted us for the last time on November 5 from an unknown number and stated that he will reach Kupwara the next day,” said Khatana, adding: “My son had gone to buy some clothing for his marriage scheduled on 11th and 12th November but this arrest is a shocker for the entire family.”

He said that soon after he learned that the special cell in Delhi had claimed the arrest of his son as a Jaish-e-Muhammad militant, he immediately contacted the local police. “I talked to local DySP and others and intimated them about the same and pleaded the innocence of my son,” Khatana said.

Sanaullah Mir, the father of Abdul Latif, 20, another youth from Duroo, Sopore told KNO that his son had gone to Delhi on 4th November for some work. “My son is Hafiz-e-Quran (one who memorises quran). Barely after two days, we lost contact with him. Last time we spoke to our son was November 6,” he said.

“I came to know about the arrest of my son through a news channel. I was shocked to see my son being arrested on the pretext of being a militant associate.”

The family members of both the youth have appealed to the Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha, and Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh and sought their intervention in the early release of the duo.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav had said that the duo was arrested during a trap laid by the police in Sarai Kale Khan area of Delhi.

“On the basis of the information received, a trap was laid near Millennium Park, Sarai Kale Khan, and two suspected militants, who are residents of Jammu and Kashmir, were apprehended around 10.15 pm,” he had said. “Two semi-automatic pistols along with 10 live cartridges have been recovered from them.”