A former police officer who led the team that caught Masrat Alam in 2010 has stirred up a controversy, with media reports citing him saying that the then Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Omar Abdullah, wanted the separatist leader dead. According to a report, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, who was Srinagar's senior superintendent of police, also claimed that Abdullah rewarded him for arresting Alam by paying Rs 15 lakh from his own pocket.