Pak terrorists in Kashmir jails to be shifted out of state

Pakistani terrorists lodged in jails in Jammu and Kashmir, may still prove to be a security threat, albeit of a different kind. After arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Naveed Jutt alias Abu Hanzala escaped from police custody while being taken to a hospital in Srinagar for a medical check up on February 6, the Union home ministry has asked the state government to shift dreaded Pakistani terrorists to jails located outside the Valley.

As many as 25 terrorists who were lodged in various jails in the Valley have been shifted to jails outside the state, MHA sources revealed.

Naveed’s escape is even more shocking as it came to light that he had managed to get himself shifted from a jail in Jammu to the central jail in Srinagar months before his escape. The MHA has handed over the case to the National Investigation Agency terming his escape as a terror incident which had left two police officials dead. The police officials were  killed when militants, who where helping Naveed, fired upon them outside the SMHS hospital in Srinagar.

Naveed’s escape has clearly left the state police and jail authorities red faced. The NIA is probing the “conspiracy” angle as to how the dreaded Pakistani terrorist managed to get favourable orders from jail officials as well as doctors. Naveed had managed to get orders issued by the state home department to shift him from a jail in Jammu to the central jail in Srinagar .

The state government has been asked to conduct a detailed inquiry and submit a report while taking swift action revamping the security of jails on the basis of inputs received from security agencies, MHA officials said.

The intelligence agencies have been worried since Naveed’s escape as the incident not only hints at a network between the militants and some non-militants in the valley but also gives the Lashkar terrorist a chance to continue his terror activities and possibly recruit more youth while on the run.

The MHA and state government have been brain-storming on how to prevent the dreaded terrorists from being assisted by their terror associates in the Valley to escape from jails in the insurgency-hit state. The home ministry is livid after the incident and is looking at various options to beef up prison security including involving the CRPF in increasing perimeter security of jails and regular security audits.