The J&K Police has succeeded in solving the mystery behind the recent bomb blasts in Jammu city. Altaf Hussain, a Selection Grade Constable posted with 5th Bn IRP in Channi Himmat, Jammu was arrested for his involvement in Krishna Nagar and Company Bagh blasts. Immediately after triggering the Krishna Nagar blast, the arrested cop made a call to Delhi, "Kaam Ho Gaya Hai", from a city PCO. This call was tapped and Altaf Hussain was picked up by SOG on March 6.

The raid on Altaf’s quarter at Company Bagh yielded several incriminating documents, which included a handwritten letter in the name of Islamic Front. Police also came across cassettes carrying inflammatory propaganda, pamphlets written by Maulana Maududi and copies of a Pakistan magazine Zarab Haq, containing profiles of various terrorists killed during encounters with Indian security forces. Many receipts of STD calls made by him to people in Delhi and Srinagar were also recovered.

The arrested cop had maintained a record of the newspaper clippings carrying the coverage of explosions. These cuttings he used to send to Pakistan as proof of his acts. During interrogation, Altaf Hussain is reported to have told the police that he was paid Rs 30,000 for various blasts by Adil alias Shabir. Police has seized the amount deposited by him as a Fixed Deposit in a Rajouri Branch of J&K Bank. At his instance, the police recovered 5 kgs of deadly RDX, large quantities of arms and ammunition, which included 4 AK rifles, 15 AK magazines and 12 grenades.

Five days before police was zeroing in on Altaf, some cops transferred trunks and other items from a H-block quarter to another quarter on the ground floor. Talking about the laxity in security precautions, residents at the Company Bagh said only innocents were checked, while the government officials and vehicles were having free access.

Well placed sources added that the arrested cop had powerful patrons from among the politicians and bureaucrats. He had established a wide network of contacts in the Police department and outside. This helped him carry out high-profile subversive activities with ease.

Reports say that Altaf Hussain has made sensational disclosures during his interrogation. He confessed to his involvement in the blasts and revealed that he was the local commander of the Pak-sponsored Islamic Front. Altaf Hussain has also given a graphic account of his trip to Pakistan via Nepal. He revealed that more than fifty police and secretariat employees were involved in subversive activities. His interrogation has given important leads about the terrorist network in Himachal Pradesh, Agra, Doda, Udhampur and Delhi. Immediately after the police nabbed Altaf Hussain, many of his accomplices in police, reports added, went underground.

Altaf Hussain was recruited in 1984 in J&K Police. It was in these recruitments, people had levelled serious allegations regarding recruitment of Jamaat sympathizers in J&K Armed Police. The arrested cop had become a top ISI agent because of his posting in the security wing. He came in contact with JKLF in 1990, while he was posted in the Secretariat in Srinagar. After differences with JKLF, he switched over to Al-Mujahid for a brief period.

When Adil, alias Shabir launched J&K Islamic Front, Altaf was made as one of its important members. This person is said to be the main contact man of Altaf Hussain. He would send messages on phone to this contact man in Delhi and other places. Having come in contact with Adil in 1997, Altaf Hussain used to provide useful information and other favours to the terrorist outfit.

The graphic account Altaf Hussain gave to police during interrogation shows how well-organised is the terrorist network. In the first week of November last year, the arrested cop went on leave for 14 days on the pretext of attending his brother’s marriage at Rajouri. However, he boarded a train for New Delhi on November 1 alongwith two other ISI agents, Javed and Gohar. Next day, the trio went by Gorakhpur Express to Gorakhpur. From there, they took a bus to Kathmandu on November 4 and stayed in Surya Hotel.

Adil, the chief of the J&K Islamic Front was already in Kathmandu to facilitate his trip to Pakistan on November 7, Altaf, Adil and Mehrajuddin, the ISI agent in the Pak embassy there, addressed a conference in Surya Hotel. Subsequently they shifted to Kathmandu house.

Altaf has made the sensational discloser that he travelled by the PIA from Kathmandu to Karachi without a valid passport. A Pakistani official managed to get him cleared at the lax security check-point without any problem. He travelled under a fake name, Fayaz Ahmed. At Karachi he was received by the two ISI officials, who put him on the local flight to Islamabad on November 13. He was taken to the headquarters of Islamic Front. In Islamabad he met Bilal Beig, Chief of the Islamic Front and Brig Riyaz, a top official of the ISI. He was given good brain washing in fundamentalist indoctrination and promised handsome rewards for acts of sabotage. Bilal Beg and Brig Riyaz, reports said sought detailed information from him on STF and SOG of J&K Police.

Altaf was imparted training in fabricating IEDs at Sialkot for five days. Bilal Beg and an ISI officer Col Kiani gave him briefing about the targets and the strategy to trigger blasts. He, was asked to blow up Indian Oil Corporation, oil dumps and trigger series of blasts in and around Jammu. He was paid Rs 5000 in advance. On November 30, Altaf sneaked back in to Indian territory through RS Pura sector, alongwith a consignment of arms and ammunition. Significantly the cop got, his salary, for over a month he remained absent from duty.

While crossing over into RS Pura with consignment of arms and explosives, the arrested cop lost a part of consignment en-route and succeeded in smuggling 5 kg RDX, which he dumped at Devpur Samka village of RS Pura. A part of the RDX was retrieved by him and Adil supplied him another consignment on December 27.

On January 27, Altaf placed a bomb with four-hour timer, below an Ambassador car in a Company Bagh area. After triggering the blast at Krishna Nagar on February 11, he went to a nearby STD booth to rang up Adil to say "Kaam Ho Gaya". This call helped the police to track him down. On February 13, he received Rs 30,000 from Adil for causing this blast. On March 6, Altaf was picked up by the SOG. The leading local daily, The State Times, in its edition, dated March 16, carried the news abut Altaf’s arrest and alleged that the godfathers of Altaf both in the police and ruling National Conference were trying to derail the investigations.

A police handout said that ISI had directed Altaf to fire a rocket at Indian Oil Depot near Railway Station by using a disposable launcher. Altaf had lost the rocket enroute RS Pura. Police said at least two more militants went underground after leakage of reports regarding Altafs arrest by an Inspector of SOG.

Following the trail of Altaf Hussain, the police by arresting constable Abrar Malik, Altaf Ahmed, an ex-CRP personnel and Mohd Iqbal, a dismissed police constable has unearthed the network that Altaf Hussain had built for subversive activities. Abrar Malik, posted at JKAP headquartrs at Surankote was arrested on March 17. Reports said he and Altaf Hussain used to take leave or even remain absent for participating in subversive activities and thereafter resume duty to avoid suspicion. However, both would draw salary regularly without any difficulty, even while they remained absent on duty.