Reasi, J&K: After 18 years on the run, a former Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant, Anwar Ali Chouhan (40), was apprehended in the Reasi district. Chouhan, who joined the militant group in 2001, had surrendered in 2007 but subsequently went into hiding, evading arrest for his involvement in multiple terror-related cases.
Despite numerous raids on his residences in Gujjar Kothian, Chinore (Jammu), and Kherpora (Anantnag), police were unable to locate him. Legal proceedings, including actions under sections 82 and 83 of the Criminal Procedure Code, were initiated against him.
Chouhan was finally arrested on Thursday in a forest near Gujjar Kothian, Talwara. He is wanted in connection with two specific incidents: a 2006 firing in the Jadd forest and a grenade attack at Baradari in Reasi, also in 2006. The grenade attack resulted in the death of a police officer’s father and injuries to four others. Chouhan’s brother, Mumtaz Ali, was also implicated in the grenade attack and was arrested in 2007.
