Saharanpur/Srinagar: In a dramatic turn of events, a terrorist wanted for a 1993 grenade attack on police in Uttar Pradesh has been arrested after 31 years on the run. The accused, Nazir Ahmad Wani, also known as Mustafa Bani and Javed Iqbal, was apprehended at his residence in the Rakh Hakermulla area of Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
Wani (51), who recently contested the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections as an independent candidate from the Budgam constituency, had evaded justice for decades before being captured in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Deoband police, and Jammu and Kashmir Police.
According to a senior Jammu and Kashmir Police official, "Wani was arrested from his residence in Rakh Hakermulla and handed over to the Uttar Pradesh team following proper procedures." After his arrest, Wani was transported to Saharanpur, where he is expected to face trial. The Saharanpur police had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for information leading to his capture.
"ATS and Deoband police jointly arrested the accused in Jammu and Kashmir and brought him to Saharanpur. After the arrest, ATS handed him over to the Deoband police," stated SP Rural Sagar Jain. "He will be presented in court and sent to jail. Interrogation has revealed that Wani is an active member of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen organization."
Wani's criminal history dates back to a 1993 grenade attack at a police checkpoint in Deoband, Saharanpur district, which injured two policemen and two civilians. "He was arrested in 1994 but absconded after being granted bail. In addition to the grenade attack, he faced charges of forgery for creating a fake identity card, allegedly under instructions from Hizbul Mujahideen," the Jammu and Kashmir Police official said.
"The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Saharanpur issued a non-bailable warrant after he failed to appear in court, and a chargesheet was filed against him in absentia," the official added.
Wani's entry into politics added a surprising dimension to his fugitive status. "In the 2024 Assembly elections, he contested as an independent candidate from Budgam. His election affidavit revealed a pending criminal case (FIR No. 1/2023) under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Budgam police station," the official noted. "However, the affidavit omitted any mention of the grenade attack and forgery cases for which he had been on the run."
The affidavit disclosed that Wani owned Rs 3.15 crore in immovable property and Rs 5.5 lakh in movable assets. His wife declared assets worth Rs 1 crore and Rs 6.12 lakh, alongside liabilities of Rs 16.2 lakh, including a Rs 7.7 lakh housing loan. Wani claimed he had not filed income tax returns for the past five years, while his wife reported an annual income of Rs 3,21,300 for 2024. Both listed their occupations as businesspersons.
Officials are now investigating whether Wani's political activities were part of a strategy to shield himself from law enforcement. "Although the accused has been handed over to the UP police, there will be an investigation into his political activities and sources of income," a police official confirmed.
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