Five days after he walked free,Hizbul ops chief held again

Five days after the J-K administration suspended two officers for failing to re-arrest Hizbul Mujahideen Operations Chief,Nisar Ahmad Bhat alias Gazi Misbah-ud-din after he was given bail by an Anantnag court,the state police has managed to arrest the top militant commander after launching a massive manhunt. “We have arrested him (Gazi Misbah-ud-din) today after a raid on a hideout in Anantnag,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir range,Farooq Ahmad told The Indian Express. He was finally arrested when the Anantnag police launched simultaneous raids at 10 locations in south Kashmir.

He had been released on bail on August 20 after an over 2 year jail term. The police had,in this case,failed to follow the standard procedure of re-arresting militants even if they are granted bail. Gazi Misbah’s release had stunned the security forces and it was being seen as a major setback for the security agencies in the Valley.

Soon after his release,J-K Police suspended two officials – a sub inspector heading the guard party accompanying Gazi Misbah to court and a Counter Intelligence official. The police had also initiated an inquiry to find out why Gazi Misbah was allowed to walk free.

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Gazi Misbah was the Hizbul Mujahideen’s Chief Commander Operations before he was arrested by J-K Police from his hideout in Pulwama in December 2007. Before rising to the position of chief of operations,Gazi Misbah,had even served as the driver of Hizbul Mujahideen supreme commander Syed Salahuddin in Pakistan.

A resident of Arwani village in Anantnag,he had been active since 1990. J-K Police sources said that he was divisional commander of the outfit for Poonch-Rajouri districts from 1999 to 2004 when he was finally asked to cross over to the Valley from the Pir Panjal region.