Punjab police, today, arrested two accomplices of slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo, in Amritsar, highlighting the interstate terror links and terror funding. The duo are learnt to be close to Naikoo's associate Hilal Ahmed Wagey.
Identified as Bikram Singh alias Vicky and Maninder Singh alias Mani, the duo were residents of Guru Amardas Avenue in Amritsar. They had come on a scooty to deliver Rs 29 lakh in cash to Hilal but were nabbed. They have, allegedly, confessed to collecting the money from different sources in the state, on Naikoo's instructions.
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Police had arrested Hilal from outskirts of Amritsar district on April 25, and laid a trap for the duo, with his help.
“We managed to nab the two accused today following the trail of [Hilal Ahmed] Wagey. We seized 1kg heroin and Rs 32 lakh in cash from the duo, which unearthed the conspiracy to smuggle narcotics and weapons from Pakistan,” said Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta.
The duo's confession has rattled both the state and the Union government, with NIA now taking over the investigation in the case, which has footprints across Punjab and extends to Jammu and Kashmir.
On Wednesday, security forces killed Naikoo in an encounter at Beighpora, in Awantipora in south Kashmir.
Naikoo was the most-wanted militant commander in Kashmir and had a bounty of Rs 12 lakh on his head.
