Police claims to have solved murder mystery of Hizb militant

Police today claimed to have cracked the murder mystery of a Hizbul Mujahideen militant by arresting three persons including a colleague of the deceased from Baramulla district.
"Police has solved the murder mystery of a Hizb militant after arresting three people including another Hizb militant last evening," a police spokesman said today.
Bullet-ridden body of Fayaz Ahmad Bhat alias Showkat, an active militant of Hizbul Mujahideen, was found in an orchard of village Devbug in Kunzer area of Baramulla district on September 19 last year, he said.
During the investigation, it surfaced that Fayaz was killed by his own associates who were operating with him in Pattan-Kreeri-Kunzer belt of the district, the spokesman said.

The probe showed that a recycled ex-militant Tariq Ahmad War alias Javaid, in order to eliminate Fayaz, had hatched a criminal conspiracy along with other militants of Hizb -- Bilal Ahmad Bhat, Nisar Ahmad Wani and Ishfaq Ahmad Lone, the spokesman said.
"This group of militants had developed some acrimony towards Fayaz, accusing him of misappropriation of funds and suspecting him of planning his surrender before police and security forces," the spokesman added.

This group of militants met Fayaz in village Devbug in an orchard and had heated arguments, he said, adding Fayaz was killed by a volley of bullets later in the night nearly two kilometres from the spot where they had met.

In the incident, Wani, who was later killed in an encounter with security forces on October 21, also sustained gunshot wounds in the retaliatory gun fire by Fayaz, he said.
"Body of Fayaz was carried in the load carrier driven by Sajad Ahmad and dumped at the spot where group had met in the orchards of village Devbug," he said.
The vehicle used for transporting the deceased has been seized by police and Tariq Ahmad War, Sajad Ahmad Sheikh and Irfan Ganaie have been arrested in the instant case, the spokesman said.
However, militants Bilal Ahmad Bhat and Ishfaq Ahmad Wani are still at large and efforts are on to arrest them, he added.