Social media used to gather info
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 14: In a sensational disclosure made by four students-turned-militants arrested by Punjab Police and Special Operations Group (SOG) Jammu from Jallandhar district of Punjab, it has surfaced that Zakir Moosa, the chief of Al-Qaeda linked Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH) had visited Jallandhar sometime back to set up base of the outfit and spread his activities in New Delhi.
Punjab Police was examining whether the four students had gone to study B Tech in Jallandhar under Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme even as it has been established during their questioning that they had used social media exhaustively to spread terror network of AGH from Kashmir to Punjab and New Delhi.
Sources told the Excelsior that Sohail Ahmad Bhat, who was arrested from South Kashmir district of Pulwama after his three colleagues were taken into custody from hostel room of a college in Jallandhar, had assisted the militants in getting weapons from Kashmir and plan terror attack in New Delhi on the directions of Zakir Moosa.
Sohail had assisted the three accused in picking up the weapon consignment, which was brought from Amritsar on October 7, sources said, adding the consignment had first been shifted to Amritsar from Pulwama and then Jallandhar. It was to be further transported to New Delhi.
All four accused including Zahid Gulzar, Mohammed Idris Shah alias Nadeem and Yusuf Rafiq Bhatt and Sohail Ahmad Bhat— had done their schooling from Senior High School, Noorpura Tral in Pulwama district of Kashmir. Yousuf Rafiq Bhatt happened to be cousin of Zakir Moosa.
Barring Sohail, three militants were students of CT Institute of Engineering Management and Technology at Shahpur, Jallandhar. Sohail was studying in Universal Group of Institutions at Lalru, Mohali and was staying in Dera Bassi. The first three were staying in hostel of the College.
Sources said the authorities were finding out whether the students-turned-militants had availed benefits of Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme. Things would be clear in the next few days as Punjab Police has asked the managements of both the Colleges to give all details of the students-turned-militants.
Sources said Sohail had shared the WhatsApp location of the place from where the three accused had to pick the consignment
A case has been registered against all accused under Sections 121 (waging, or attempting to wage war against the country), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Relevant sections of the Arms Act and the Explosives Act have also been slapped, sources said.
Meanwhile, police have asked four students of St Soldier Management College, Jallandhar to join investigation along with the four arrested Kashmiri students. The four students are mutual friends of the accused and are natives of Kashmir, with two of them sharing a paying guest accommodation with one of the accused, Mohammed Idris Shah alias Nadeem.
Police have just asked the four students to cooperate as part of investigation.
Sources disclosed that police was also working on connections of Kashmiri with drug peddlers of Punjab as there had been reports that narcotics were being smuggled in good quantity to Punjab from South Kashmir via Jammu. Number of consignments have been intercepted by Jammu and Kashmir Police and seized before they could enter Punjab, they said.
They added that some females have also been taken into custody from Jallandhar on the disclosures made by the arrested militants. They were being quizzed to ascertain their links with the Kashmiri students-turned-militants.
As reported by the Excelsior, a large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the arrested militants in Jallandhar. The arms and explosives were to be transported to New Delhi for carrying out terror attacks.
The Ghazwat Ansar militants, who were reportedly camping in New Delhi, are being searched, sources said.
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