Going by the way the National Investigation Agency has conducted its investigations and prosecutions in the last five years, one can say with sadness that the truth would be the first casualty in the case registered by it against Davinder Singh, now suspended Deputy Superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir Police.
The decision to transfer the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was inevitable after reports quoting sources in J&K police started making the headlines in national and international media. The most damning was from the BBC, which reported that Davinder Singh pleaded with the Deputy Inspector General of Police at the time of his arrest saying, “Sir, ye game hai, aap game kharab mat karo. (Sir, this is a game, don’t spoil it).”
What “game” he was referring to and with whom he was playing it may or may never come out, which is normal in the murky world of intelligence operations. And the many pronouncements or media leaks on him prove that this case has many holes.
Given the controversial past of Davinder Singh, more so due to his alleged involvement in the 2001 Parliament attack case, circumstances of his arrest and the initial “sourced” narrative from J&K police, it is obvious that people would be suspicious of the whole matter.
Also read: How J&K cop Davinder’s ‘covert mission lie’ was exposed by militant he was ferrying
The case
Davinder Singh was escorting Naveed Mushtaq (alias Babu), a militant of Hizbul Mujahideen and resident of Nazneenpora in Shopian district, and his associate Asif Ahmad, when he was arrested on 11 January at Anantnag. According to the police, Naveed Mushtaq was wanted in the killings of apple traders, drivers and labourers (a total of 11 people) in October last year.
Nothing surprising or new, because militants have been involved in targeted killing of innocent civilians both within and outside Kashmir in the past as well. But what makes these killings look sinister is that they took place right around the time of the ‘conducted tour’ of ‘Right-wing’ members of European Parliament (MEPs) to J&K, which began 29 October.
In fact, five migrant labourers, all from Murshidabad in West Bengal, were killed the same evening the MEPs arrived in Srinagar. Later, the media reported that the visit of these MEPs was organised by a non-government organisation, with a dubious background.
Also read: Not a lone black sheep: Why J&K Police, Army and CAPF will have more like DSP Davinder Singh
Things don’t add up
There are many things that don’t add up about the Davinder Singh case. And it has a lot to do with how the J&K Police initially handled the case.
The initial narrative in the media was that the militants were being ferried to Delhi, which was subsequently changed to Jammu.
So, the question is why was such a dangerous militant, already accused of murder, being escorted for a “game” by an officer, who was about to be promoted to Superintendent of J&K Police. The J&K Police allegation that Davinder Singh did it for a paltry sum of Rs 12 lakh is difficult to believe in a corruption-riven state like Kashmir. He would have certainly got much more legally had he retired as an SP, even if we leave aside other corrupt avenues of making money. If he was such an ace operator and playing double games, he wouldn’t have given up his post-retirement benefits for just 12 lakhs.
Through ‘source-based’ stories in the media, it is now being insinuated that Singh may have connections with Pakistan’s ISI. If it is true, J&K police would have said it when Davinder Singh was first arrested, when it would have been easier to explain his involvement in ferrying militants. One can accept someone being corrupt, but a police officer of such seniority escorting militants for money is unheard of in J&K Police.
While J&K Police needs to be appreciated for arresting one of its officers, it would have been better for it to have investigated the matter and placed the facts before the country to rest speculations. The opposition now is even questioning the Pulwama attack in February last year after Davinder’s arrest.
Also read: I must have lost my mind: Davinder Singh tells interrogators on his links to militants
Finally, the case only had local ramifications that could have been easily investigated by the police and there was no need to transfer it to the NIA. India would also like to know who was the mastermind behind the murders of poor innocent traders, drivers and migrant labourers in Kashmir.
There are several unexplained and un-probed cases of killings and ‘disappearances’ since 1990 in the Valley that have caused anguish and undermined the credibility of the J&K Police. Davinder Singh was one case where it could have made a new beginning, but it has squandered the opportunity by transferring the case to the NIA rather than cleaning its stables of murky intelligence operatives and their masters. Davinder Singh is just the tip of a huge iceberg, which India doesn’t know about.
The author a former Director General of Police in Sikkim and a former Intelligence Bureau official. Views are personal.