Mattu was part of conspiracy to target more J&K cops: Officials

The Delhi Police suspects that the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist arrested on Thursday is the part of a larger conspiracy to attack more policemen in J&K, said officials aware of the developments.

The arrest of Javed Ahmed Mattu, out of the top commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen, is a major setback for terrorism and separatism in the region, especially when the number of terrorists in dwindling.

“After attacking the police party on December 6, 2012 in Sopore, in which a civilian was killed and two security officers of senior superintendent of police were , he disappeared from the scene. Despite multiple operations, he could not be traced,” said a senior police officer who was monitoring activities of Mattu in Sopore.

Mattu was 22 year old then and was working with notorious commander of Hizbul Mujahideen Abdul Qayoom Najar, who was considered as an orthodox commander who never used electronic devices. Najar was killed durin an infiltration nid in Uri in 2017.

Along with Mattu, police investigators found that two more terrorists, Waseem Guru and Imtiyaz Kandoo, both of Sopore, as part of the attack carried out on directions of Najar.

The officer said that Mattu was a young boy and a school drop-out from Sopore. He was radicalised during the 2009 agitation. “He come in contact with Najar and in 2010, he joined ranks of Hizbul and formed a close group whose main area of operation was Sopore and adjoining localities,” the officer added.

With PTI inputs