Srinagar- A narcotics smuggler was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the border area of Karnah area of North Kashmir’s Kupwara district, police said Tuesday.
In a statement issued here, a police spokesperson said that during the intervening night of August 28-29, some sounds of gunshots were heard in Haridal area of Police Post Teetwal Karnah around 10pm Monday.
Upon hearing the gunshots, he said, a swift search operation was launched by local Police and Army unit in the area during which lifeless body of Mukhtar Ahmad Shah of Panjtaran Karnah was recovered in the village of Pingla Haridal.
“The Police promptly transferred the body to SDH Tangdhar for necessary medico-legal procedures. Subsequent to the post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to the family for final rites. A case has been registered under appropriate sections, and a thorough investigation has been initiated,” the spokesperson said.
From the preliminary investigations, he said, it appears that the deceased has been killed by some rival narcotics smuggling gang members or the rival terror operatives.
Notably, the spokesperson said, Mukhtar Ahmad Shah was a high-profile narcotics smuggler and a person of deep connections among narcotics smugglers in the region.
“He had been found involved in two cases of narcotics and weapons smuggling in the recent past and had confessed to orchestrating the transportation of substantial quantities of narcotics and weaponry across the border,” he said.
“His association with his brother, Sadiq Shah, a prominent figure as both a launching commander and a supplier of narcotics and weapons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK), underscores the depth of his involvement in these illicit activities. Sadiq Shah is himself chargesheeted in narco-terror cases and happens to be a top terrorist commander based in POJK,” he added
Furthermore, the spokesperson said, it is worth mentioning that the Shah family has been entangled in various legal cases relating to narcotics and weapons smuggling.
“At least six other members of the Mukhtar Ahmad Shah’s family are currently facing charges in connection to these criminal activities,” he added.
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