Liyakat Shah arrest: NIA questions 2 Delhi Police officers

New Delhi, Aug 20: Two officers of

's elite Special Cell including DCP Sanjeev Yadav were questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday in connection with the arrest of Liyakat Shah and presenting him as a Hizbul Mujahideen

.

Besides Yadav, Assistant Commissioner of Police Manish Chandra were quizzed by sleuths of NIA as it was probing the circumstances leading to the arrest of Shah, who was returning from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) as per surrender policy of the Jammu and Kashmir government, official sources said.

According to the surrender policy, youths who had crossed over to PoK in early 1990s could return to India through any route and join the national mainstream. The statements of the two officers were recorded by the NIA, the sources said, adding the focus of the questions by probe agency was on the source of the intelligence input received by Delhi Police.

The two officers were not forthcoming with the information and it was expected that NIA will again summon them along with other members of the Special Cell who were engaged in the operation. Shah was arrested on March 20 while crossing the Indo- Nepal border in Gorakhpur with his family.

While the family proceeded to Kashmir, Shah was brought to Delhi and arrested on charges of plotting terror strikes in Delhi, a charge he denied. His arrest led to bitter exchange of words between Jammu and Kashmir Police and Delhi Police.

The incident also saw an intervention by state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who demanded an NIA probe. Shah got a bail on May 17 and is at present in his home in North Kashmir.

PTI