Hizbul disputes police claim of top militant's arrest

The Hizbul Mujahideen outfit on Monday disputed a police claim about the arrest of a top group leader in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district.

Police said earlier that the Hizb militant, Sarfaraz Ahmad Sheer, was arrested.

Hizb spokesman Burhan-u-Din called local news agency KNS to challenge the police claim.

"Army and police often claim to have arrested some top militants which has now become a joke. No militant known as Sarfaraz Ahmad Sheer belongs to our group," the spokesman said.