Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Nov 16: Youths with no past criminal record or separatist affiliation are now preferred for recruitment by terror handlers in Jammu and Kashmir to stay under the radar of security forces, officials in the know say.
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This fresh strategy is completely different from the modus operandi adopted by them two decades ago, according to officials, which favoured those with established links to terror outfits.
The investigators probing the “white collar terror module” have found a distinct pattern and a common denominator among the accused persons who have been arrested or questioned so far.
“The accused persons like Dr Adeel Rather, his brother Dr Muzaffar Rather, and Dr Muzammil Ganaie do not have any past criminal record or involvement in anti-national activities,” an official said.
The official said even the family members of these radicalised youths have no past affiliation with any separatist or terror outfit.
“Even Dr Umar Nabi, who was driving the car that blew up outside the Red Fort metro station in Delhi on November 10, did not have any past record. His family also has been clean in this aspect,” the official said.
According to sources, this seems to be a deliberate ploy of the terror handlers operating in Jammu and Kashmir or from across the border in Pakistan to lure highly qualified youth and those with no past criminal record.
“It would be unthinkable for anyone to believe that a group of doctors would indulge in terror activities… So, that gave these accused persons a cover right from the start,” the official said.
The module was busted after posters threatening police and security forces appeared on walls in Bunpora, Nowgam, in mid-October, prompting an investigation. (PTI)
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