From sub-inspector to DSP: Davinder Singh's meteoric rise in J&K police, and sudden fall from grace

The arrest of a top Jammu and Kashmir police officer, who was caught transporting two terrorists to Jammu, has sent shockwaves across the security apparatus in the newly-minted Union Territory. 

Deputy superintendent of police Davinder Singh was arrested in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district last week, along with top Hizb commander Naveed Ahmad Shah alias Naveed Babu when they were travelling to Jammu.

Posted at J&K Police's anti-hijacking unit at Srinagar airport, Singh's 28-year long carrier has seen its fair share of controversies. 

Singh, who joined the J&K Police as sub-inspector, rose through ranks and became a DSP. 

Since the start of his carrier in the 90s, he was at the centre of series of allegations, including that of extortion. But despite all this, he was posted at a highly sensitive location at the airport, that too at a time when 15 foreign envoys were visiting Kashmir on an official tour. 

Davinder Singh joined the J&K Police as sub-inspector in 1992 and was posted in Srinagar's Shaheed Gunj area. In 1994, he volunteered to join STF (special task force), the J&K Police's anti-insurgency force which is now known as SOG (special operations group). Apparently, he joined the STF when he was about to be terminated from the service for links with drug peddlers. 

He remained in SOG till 2001. 

His name again came up in 2004 when 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was lodged in Delhi's' Tihar jail for his role in the attack, alleged that Singh had asked him to take a certain Pakistani national named Mohammad to Delhi and rent a house for him to stay in the national capital. 

He rose to become a DSP and was posted in Budgam SOG as in 2001. He was transferred out after massive public protests against custodial deaths. He was then transferred to traffic police as punishment for many years.

He was in Pulwama as DSP control room, Pulwama wherein 2018, he helped counter a terror attack at district police lines. He was awarded the Sher-e-Kashmir police medal for gallantry in the year 2018 for his role in countering the attack. 

After Pulwama, he managed to get a prime but sensitive posting of DSP anti-hijacking at Srinagar Airport.

PTI reported that he was in line for a promotion as a superintendent of police later this month.

The arrest of a decorated top officer has shocked the security forces operating in the valley as he has been involved in several anti-terrorism operations in the militancy-hit J&K.

Sources in the security establishment say that Davinder had taken an amount of Rs 12 lakh from Naveed to transport them to Jammu. Sources privy to the information say that an amount of Rs 7.5 Lakh was recovered from his Indra Nagar house by the forces.