Kashmir cops allegedly sold arms to extremists

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Senior police officers covering counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir have allegedly been selling sophisticated automatic assault rifles to groups like the People's War Group of Andhra Pradesh and the Ranvir Sena in Bihar.

A top source in the state police told a local journalist that over 20 AK-47 assault rifles and one sniper rifle have been sold to these groups. The top brass are even more embarrassed that the officers accused have allegedly also helped smuggle to Pakistan acetic anhydride, a chemical used to purify heroin. The heroin smugglers also sell arms and supply heroin in India.

A high-level inquiry ordered is apparently being stalled by other senior officials who feel an investigation would bring their misdeeds also to light. The police, given extraordinary powers in the fight against militancy, have often fallen prey to corruption and serious misconduct. But the alleged sale of arms to militants groups has added an unpleasant dimension to their activities.

"The state government has taken serious note of the arms sale and the inquiry will be completed soon," said a senior police officer. Earlier, in 1992, an assistant commandant in a paramilitary force was booked in connection with the bomb blast at the state police headquarters in Srinagar in all the top officers of the local police were injured.

The police fear this could be the tip of the iceberg since the policemen could not have sought such distant purchasers without tapping the local militant market.