Cops counter: NIA ignored evidence

They said police also had phone intercepts of Shah’s first wife Ameena Begum, which establish that she was also in touch with HuM commanders in the valley. “Both the phone intercepts of Shah’s wife as well as the contact details recovered from his mobile phone have not been considered by the NIA. We handed it over to them when the case was transferred,” said a police officer.

It was Ameena who arranged Shah’s return to the valley by taking advantage of the J&K government’s rehabilitation policy for former militants. On February 2, 2011, Ameena filed an application at the office of SSP Kupwara. The application was forwarded to IG, CID, Jammu and Kashmir Police. According to the NIA’s chargesheet, “Shah’s application was not found fit to be recommended for further action.”

Sources said, if required, they would challenge the case in court. They said police registered a case on March 9, 2013 based on intelligence inputs from a sister agency that Shah would return to India, through the Nepal route to carry out attacks in Delhi. “When we became sure about Shah’s plan, we registered a case on March 9 itself. Shah came on March 20 and we arrested him at Sanauli border. The case was transferred to the NIA on March 25, we got only five days to investigate,” said a senior officer.