A terrorist in Khaki !

Editorial

It is shocking that Davinder Singh, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was arrested while he was travelling with 2 terrorists in Kashmir. Jammu & Kashmir Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar has clarified that Davinder Singh will be interrogated as a ‘terrorist’. A squad of Special Police Officers (SPO) was set up in Kashmir to capture terrorists. This team includes local Kashmiris; however, many cases are coming to light that Policemen in this squad are turning into terrorists. Earlier, Policemen such as Adil Bashir Sheikh, Suleiman Khan, Shabir Ahmed Dar had joined the Police and later, joined terrorist organisations. Even Naveed Babu, who was arrested along with Davinder Singh, was working for some time as a Policeman.

We normally witness that a ‘Khan’ or ‘Sheikh’ becomes a terrorist for jihad; however, the arrested Police officer is now named ‘Davinder Singh’. It is not digestible that a person named ‘Singh’ can join hands with jihadi terrorists. The history of the Sikhs is full of bravery of many Sikh warriors who have valiantly fought against jihadis and religious fanatics. It is disgusting that a person from such a sect wearing a ‘Khaki’ uniform becomes a companion of jihadi terrorists. So far, Policemen have been called ‘corrupt’, ‘gangsters’, ‘rapists’, etc. With Davinder Singh’s actions, a new word ‘terrorist’ has now been added to the list. Policemen joining hands with the terrorists is very dangerous for the security of the country.

Rewarding the corrupt !

Davinder Singh was promoted to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police based on his tenure in Police service. Singh may have known many chinks in the armour of the State Police department due to his prolonged stint with the Jammu & Kashmir Police. He must be well aware of which Policeman can be lured, which Policeman is patriotic, what are the strengths and weaknesses of senior Police officers. All this information must have been passed on to Pakistan, a sponsor of terrorism, and Pakistan could be using this information. This possibility cannot be ruled out given the recent terrorist attacks on Police outposts and the killing of several Policemen.

After the arrest of Davinder Singh, several cases of his terrorist acts have surfaced; however, how did intelligence agencies fail to find out about a Police officer who had joined hands with terrorists earlier ? No doubt Davinder Singh will be thoroughly interrogated. But how come intelligence agencies did not identify such pro-terrorist people working in the security forces promptly ? All this is a major failure of the entire security apparatus.

Importantly, those who committed such crimes are being honoured with Gallantry medals. This is an insult of this medal. Instead of Policemen who are duty-conscious, virtuous and public-oriented, if Policemen who are anti-social and anti-national are honoured, then politics behind award distribution should also be exposed.

Irresponsible governance system !

Davinder Singh’s relationship with terrorist organisations first came to light in 2001. Mohammad Afzal, who was the mastermind of the attack on the Parliament, said, “Davinder Singh had pressurised me to assist terrorists who attacked the Parliament”. No one paid any attention to him at that time. As it is, there is no need to believe the words of a terrorist; however, as a precautionary measure, it was necessary to verify the references he gave. This is the job of security agencies. Why was this not verified at that time ? This is a serious blunder of the security agencies. If Singh had been interrogated at that time itself, the damage caused to the J&K Police could have been avoided.

Secondly, Davinder Singh was notorious as a corrupt officer. In his investigation, it was revealed that he was arranging the hideouts for several terrorists. For this, he used to take millions of Rupees. He was also arrested for taking bribes while he was on duty. He was subsequently suspended; however, he was later recalled and appointed at some different place. If an inquiry had been initiated into his ill-gotten wealth at that time, further complications could have been avoided.

But our governance system is so useless that no matter how many corruption cases come to light, the corrupt roams around fearlessly until the case against him is investigated and prosecution initiated.

Corrupt individuals take disadvantage of these unforgivable flaws in the system. But now, anti-nationals such as Davinder Singh get encouragement to fearlessly act against the Nation. Davinder Singh was in touch with various terrorists through different means, providing them with food, accommodation, logistical support for terrorist attacks. It would be naive to postulate that while Singh was doing all these activities, his colleagues and senior officers were completely oblivious.