Arrested militant did business in Nepal: family

Srinagar, Sep 13 (IANS) The family of the militant commander Mehraj-ud-din Dand, arrested in Kashmir for the 1999 hijacking of flight IC-814 to Afghanistan, Thursday said he was working as a businessman in Nepal and that they have no knowledge about his subversive activities.

Abdul Rashid Dand, the elder brother of Mehraj-ud-din Dand, who was arrested on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Jammu division, told reporters in Sopore, about 35 km from here, that Mehraj-ud-din contacted him Sep 9 and since then his whereabouts were not known to the family.

“He contacted us on phone on Sep 9 saying he was ill and was coming to join us. Since then we have not heard from him and nobody has informed us about his whereabouts,” Abdul Rashid said.

Mehraj-ud-din was first arrested by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Sopore in 1991.

“He was booked under the Public Safety Act in 1991 and lodged in the Kotbalwal jail in Jammu.

“After his release, we convinced him to lead a normal life. He shifted to Nepal where he married a local girl and did business there.

“Of late, he has been facing serious health problems, probably a brain tumour, for which he was getting treatment in Nepal. He informed us that he was not getting any relief from his treatment and therefore wanted to join us so that we could take care of him,” he said.

The family of the arrested guerrilla live in the Krankshavan colony of Sopore.

On Mehraj-ud-din’s involvement in the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 to Kandahar, Abdul Rashid said he had no knowledge about it.

“I don’t know anything about his alleged involvement in the hijack,” the brother said.

IANS 2012-09-13 15:11:35