On January 11, top Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) Commander – Naveed Babu was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) along with two other militants Rafi and Irfan Dar on the highway in Kulgam district, which leads to Jammu. Good catch for the JKP but routine one may say. However, this is not the complete story. What sent shockwaves across the country was the news that a highly decorated police officer – Davinder Singh, of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was in the navigator’s seat in the same car along with the terrorists.
DIG (JKP) Atul Goel arrested DSP Davinder Singh, who, according to the JKP, is being treated as a terrorist. His case has been transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which, according to latest reports, has booked JKP-DSP Davinder Singh under the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The arrest of DSP Davinder Singh has naturally sparked outrage and disbelief in the security apparatus, the government, media, terrorism experts, political class and the public at large. The sordid episode has led to more questions than answers. Veteran media pundits are presenting numerous theories (both conspiracy and incriminatory) on their channels and news portals to explain the incident with each theory jostling for being the most acceptable and plausible for public consumption.
‘Torture Singh’
Deputy Superintendent of JKP – Davinder Singh was currently in-charge of anti-hijacking unit JKP at Srinagar airport. Davinder is a Kashmiri local hailing from Ovarigund Tral in Pulwama district. He is said to own ancestral property in Tral besides properties in other states and a house in Jammu. After graduating from Amar Singh College, Srinagar, Davinder joined the JKP as Sub-Inspector in 1990. Within two years of joining service, he was suspended for alleged involvement in narcotics and drugs.
However, in 1998 he was retained and moved to Special Operation Group (SOG) where he said to have taken part in multiple counter-terrorism operations. On the strength of his performance, he became Inspector of Humhama SOG Camp in Budgam. Nevertheless, here too allegations were rife about his immoral activities and involvement in extortion rackets.
According to Ishfaq-ul-Hassan of India Tomorrow, DSP Davinder Singh was “nicknamed ‘Torture Singh’, he was notorious for tormenting people in custody when he was posted at SOG, Srinagar. Singh was also named in the report titled ‘Structures of Violence’ released by J&K Coalition of Civil Society and other groups in 2015. His name figured as case no. 129 in which he was accused of killing a student Aijaz Ahmad Bazaz allegedly in custody. He was in SOG Cargo of Humhama for a long time. He conducted several anti-militancy operations. Last year, he was even given a state award for his role in counter-insurgency operations. Despite being darling to the department, he did not have a clean slate. When he was posted in the traffic department, he was alleged to extort money from motorists.”
The Afzal Guru and Pulwama connection
Afzal Guru was hanged on February 9, 2013 for his involvement in the sensational attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001. Afzal wrote a letter to his lawyer from Tihar Jail in 2004, alleging that DSP Davinder Singh asked him to ferry a Pakistani, who was later found to have carried out the Parliament attack, to New Delhi and arrange for his lodging and transport.
Afzal also alleged that he was tortured by Davinder along with another police officer at Humhama. Afzal’s allegations though recorded were never investigated (officially). According to Anil Raina in Pune Mirror – “After the 2001 Parliament attack, Singh was moved out of SOG in 2003 following grave extortion charges, but by then had been promoted to DSP rank. For nigh on half a decade, he was posted as a punishment in the armed police wing, and in 2007, suspended once more on charges of extorting a prominent businessman. Around 2008, Singh was posted in the traffic department till Afzal’s execution in 2013. He immediately sold his house in Sanat Nagar and purchased land at Indira Nagar near Army Base Headquarters BB Cantonment in Srinagar, where he currently has a huge under-construction house. He expressed concerns over his security to senior police officers, winning back his posting in executive police as DSP in SOG Srinagar. In 2015, Singh was posted as DSP at police lines in Pulwama, where there was a Jaish-e-Mohammed attack in 2017. The next year, he was given a state gallantry award and later transferred to his latest airport post.”
Theories to explain the unexplainable
Former editor of the Indian Express and now heading the Print – Shekhar Gupta has presented four theories which he says are doing the rounds to explain how a decorated, top counter-terrorism police officer was caught ferrying three wanted terrorists by his seniors. One theory is the “grand deep state” theory, which says that Davinder was used as a pawn by the Indian deep state to undertake “false flag operations”.
The second theory is the “James Bond / Mata Hari” theory, which visualises the now shamed DSP to be an agent for Pakistan and abetting daredevil missions against India.
The third theory is the “Agency Rivalry” theory, which suggests that “Torture” Singh was made a scapegoat by the internecine rivalry between the various security and intelligence agencies and teams who used by them for their vested interests often at cross-purposes to the chagrin of our security and defence capability.
The fourth theory, which Gupta endorses, is the “Conflict Entrepreneur” theory that proposes that every conflict zone produces its own business opportunities, which people like Davinder exploit to build their fortune. They extort money from their victims. They are only interested in profit and do not care about how their business will affect the very state they have taken an oath to serve.
Will we ever know the truth?
Gandhiji once said: “As the state is a soulless machine, it can never be weaned from violence to which it owes its very existence.” It would be naïve for anyone to believe that the NIA will unearth the truth behind the arrest of DSP Davinder Singh with top terrorists in tow.
Today we are witnessing a massive people’s uprising against the discriminatory and unconstitutional policies of the government. Everyone knows that it is a fight against fascism to protect the Idea of India and save our future generations from falling prey to state-sponsored bigotry and xenophobia.
If you believe that the present political class has gone and can go to any length for latching on to the seat of power then you will be satiated with the various conspiracy theories of a deep state. As someone said in the media, “I am not interested in an investigation into Davinder Singh. I am more interested in checking out his handlers.”