Rs 25 lakh sent through drones, Rs 4-5 lakh recovered
Militant hideout in a house at Talab Khatikan unearthed
Next plan was targeted killings; arms, explosives recovered
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, July 18: Police today busted three major terror modules in Jammu and Rajouri districts who were plotting targeted killings and other terror attacks and were instrumental in receiving nearly 20 consignments of arms, ammunition and explosives dropped from across the border through drones.
A total of seven Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives have been arrested including three in Jammu and four in Rajouri. Huge quantity of arms and explosives including AK rifles, pistols, remote control IEDs, sticky bombs, silencer pistols and cash sent through drones has been recovered so far from the arrested persons and more seizures at their behest are not ruled out.
While three militants arrested in Jammu had received 15 drone consignments sent from Pakistan through the International Border in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts, two terror modules busted in Rajouri were involved in receiving arms, ammunition and explosives from five drones besides killings and attacks including the one on BJP leader’s house at Rajouri in which a two-year-old child was killed and many others were injured.
“Recovery of silencer pistols from the possession of arrested militants revealed that they were also planning targeted killings among other acts,” Additional DGP Jammu Zone Mukesh Singh told a press conference here this evening which was also attended by DIG Jammu-Kathua range Vivek Gupta, DIG Rajouri-Poonch Haseeb Mughal, SSP Jammu Chandan Kohli and SSP Rajouri Choudhary Aslam.
Quoting questioning of the militants, the ADGP later told the Excelsior that along with arms and explosives, every drone was carrying Rs 80,000 to Rs one lakh and a total amount of around Rs 25 lakh in genuine Indian currency were taken by the LeT operatives through drone activities. Nearly Rs 4-5 lakh has been recovered.
Mukesh Singh said police have unearthed a hideout of the militants inside Talab Khatikan house of a LeT operative which had been erected inside an almirah from where one AK rifle, ammunition and explosives were seized.
Three LeT operatives arrested by Jammu Police have been identified as Faisal Munir son of Sadiq Hussain, a resident of Talab Khatikan in whose house the hideout was unearthed, Mian Sohail son of Mian Younis of Chainpura Kathua and Habib son of Sheru of Haria Chak, Kathua.
Faisal Muneer, Singh said, was operating at the behest of Bashir Sajjad, a resident of Doda who is presently managing the LeT activities in Jammu sitting in Pakistan and another militant who was working with code name of Albert.
Faisal Munir was involved in plotting 2000 Hari Singh High School fidayeen attack in which he was arrested, convicted and bailed out but had again become active in the militancy for past one-and-a-half-year to two years and along with Mian Sohail and Habib was transporting arms, ammunition and explosive consignments to South Kashmir and Jammu after collecting them from near the International Border.
Besides one AK-47 rifles, police have recovered five pistols, eight grenades and some drugs which were to be used in terror financing from the house of Faisal Munir. The trio had also smuggled seven sticky bombs and 15 pistols, which were seized in Srinagar. A Dzire car being used by the Lashkar operatives has been recovered, the ADGP Jammu said.
He said most of terror cases in Jammu province have been solved with the busting of the three LeT modules in two districts.
He said majority of the terror-related cases have been solved with the busting of the LeT network in the two districts. These included over 15 drone-related and six terror-related cases, he added.
In reply to a question about the modules’ involvement in the Katra bus blast case, Singh said that matter is under investigation.
To another question about any further breakthrough in the arrest of LeT militant Talib Hussain of Rajouri, he said investigation is on.
The investigation into weapons’ dropping from drones in Jammu, Samba and Kathua district initially led to arrest of one Habib of Hariya Chak in Kathua, he said.
During questioning, Habib admitted his role as a receiver of multiple consignments of arms and ammunitions dropped through drones. He also said he is part of a terror network and was working on the directions of Faisal Muneer, the ADGP said.
The consignments received by Habib were carried to Jammu by him and delivered to different persons at different locations on the directions of Muneer, he said.
After these disclosures, Munir was picked up and questioned, following which he accepted his link with Pakistan-based handlers and his involvement in the terror nexus, Singh said.
Muneer disclosed that he was in touch with these handlers for more than two and half years and had received 15 consignments dropped by drones at multiple locations in Samba and Kathua, including Manyari, Mawa, Hari-e-Chak, the police official said.
He delivered these consignments at different locations in Jammu and also in the Kashmir Valley on the directions of Pakistani handlers, Singh said.
On Muneer’s revelations, one AK 47 rifle, two AK magazines, 60 AK rounds, five pistols, 15 pistol magazines, 100 pistol rounds, two pistol silencers, eight grenades and a weighing machine besides weapon cleaning accessories were seized.
He said one more accused Mian Sohail of Kathua was also arrested in the case and the involvement of more persons in this network is suspected and investigation is going on.
Asked whether terror modules were planning targeted killings, the ADGP said the recovery of silencers reflects such a design.
He said that majority of the weapons and explosives airdropped through drones 15 times in border areas in the last two years have been recovered.
In Rajouri district, Talib Hussain Shah alias Abu Ahmad Haider Shah of Draj-Kotranka, who was LeT commander for the Rajouri area and who was instrumental in almost all major terror activities and incidents in the Pir Panjal area over the past three years, was arrested along with his three associates, Singh said.
Shah was tasked to carry out terror attacks on security forces, minority community and prominent political figures in the area, he said.
Shah and his associates have been found to be involved in five criminal and terrorism cases, Singh said.
After his arrest by police and on subsequent disclosures, three UBGL grenades, one AK 47 rifle, four AK 47 magazines (containing 120 armour piercing rounds), two pistols, five pistol magazines, one Glock pistol silencer, 49 Chinese pistol rounds, one 2 kg IED of 2 kg, one 5 kg IED, five remote IEDs and four pressure mines were seized, he said.
Investigation brought to fore that Shah was involved in five major incidents of drone dropping-collection wherein he received arms, ammunition, explosives and Indian currency from Pakistan, the ADGP said.
Moreover, Shah received two groups of militants who were transported from Kashmir to Rajouri by his associates Mohammad Shabir of Draj and Faisal Ahmed of Pulwama, who was apprehended along with Shah, he said.
Two other militants associates are still active in higher reaches of Pir Panjal, Singh said, adding efforts are on to arrest or neutralise them.
With the arrest of Shah and his associates, the Targain murder case, Koteranka blast case, firing on one Ranjeet Singh, Anus jhuggi grenade and Shahpur grenade cases have been solved, he said.
“Arrest of Shah and his associates is a major blow to the terror outfit LeT,” the police officer said.
Altaf Hussain Shah, who has running another LeT module in Rajouri, was also arrested, he said.
This LeT operative has been found involved in a grenade throwing case on the residence of BJP functionary Jasbir Singh of Khandli, Singh said.
In that incident, a child, Veer Singh aged two years, had lost his life, he added.
The attack was carried out by Altaf Shah on the instructions of Pakistan-based handler Mohd Qasim alias Suleiman of Mahore, currently in PoK, Singh said.
All these operations were possible only due to the active support and timely intelligence of the local people of the district, he said.
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