Govt teacher among 3 arrested
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 31: Reasi police and Rashtriya Rifles unit from Mahore along with Army Intelligence have arrested three Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit who were in touch with Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) based LeT commander Mohammad Qasim of Mahore to revive militancy in the district.
Many more suspects are under radar of police and Intelligence agencies as there were specific inputs of “benami transactions” in certain accounts of suspected persons and some families of slain militants from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
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The Over Ground Workers were in contact with their Pakistani handler (LeT) Mohd Qasim of Mahore who had exfiltrated to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in 2002, an official handout issued by the District Police Reasi said.
Sitting in PoK under Pakistan army and ISI protection, Qasim had been assigned the task by his Pakistani mentors to revive militancy in Reasi district, to begin with from Mahore, which was hub of militancy about two decades back. Qasim had approached many youth of the district as part of his plan but had succeeded in motivating only few of them.
Police have identified three arrested OGWs as Ghulam Hussain of Kulwa Mulas, Abdul Aziz of Sildhar and Ashfaq Ahmed of Malan Bathoie, Mahore.
One of them is a Government teacher, one a shopkeeper and another is a labourer, sources said.
SSP Reasi Rashmi Wazir told a press conference in Reasi that an information was received through reliable sources at Police Station Mahore that some unknown persons in the area were in touch with LeT terrorists based in Pakistan to revive the militant outfit and militancy with the intention to wage war against the country and disturb the sovereignty and integrity of India.
Based on this information, a case was registered on August 5, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to investigate it, she said.
During the course of the investigation, with the help of technical data analysis support from the Army and intelligence units working in Mahore area and interrogation of suspects by the SIT, it emerged that Mohd Qasim, who is working for the LeT across the border, was the mastermind behind the module, the SSP said.
She said Qasim was trying to establish a network of Over Ground Workers so that the LeT could utilize it to recruit militants from Mahore and adjoining areas, provide logistic support and establish LeT base to facilitate the crossing of terrorists via various routes, including but not limited to Rajouri belt-Mahore-Nikin Gali to Kashmir via Kulgam area.
“Some ‘benami’ transactions in different accounts of these suspects have also been detected, and some families of slain militants who have received financial aid from the ISI have also been identified,” Wazir said.
The investigation in this regard is in progress, the SSP said.
Sources said after reviving militancy in Kishtwar district and making similar attempts in neighbouring Doda, Pakistan-based militants with the help of ISI were now trying to resume militancy in Reasi, which was among the “militancy-free districts” of Jammu region.
However, timely intercepts and action by Reasi Police, Military Intelligence and Rashtriya Rifles have thwarted Pakistani plot to revive the militancy, they added.
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