SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Police have busted terrorist modules in Jammu and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition including sticky bombs. Police said arms and ammunition is being pushed to this side through drones.
Police said that a joint team of Jammu Police, Kathua Police and SoG, Jammu have solved Kathua drone incidents, in which one drone was recently shot down by troops.
On May 29 at Talli, Hariya Chak in Kathua troops shot down a drone with a payload including UBGL rounds and sticky bombs among others. Two years back, on June 20, another drone was shot down at Manyari, Kathua which was carrying a huge payload including an M4 rifle and other explosive materials.
“Joint team during initial investigation apprehended many suspects based on technical analysis. The police team subsequently zeroed in on one person, named Habib, a resident of Harie Chak, Kathua. During the questioning, he admitted his role as receiver of multiple consignments of arms and ammunition dropped via drones controlled through Pakistan. He also admitted that he is part of an illegal terror-associates network. He revealed that he was motivated by one Faisal Muneer, resident of Talab Khatikan, Jammu and is working on his directions,” police said.
Police said that the consignments received by Habib were further carried to Jammu by him and delivered to different persons at different locations on the directions of Faisal.
“Upon this Faisal Munir was also picked and questioned thoroughly after which he accepted his link with Pak-based handlers and his involvement in this terror nexus,” police said.
“Faisal disclosed that he was in touch with Pak-based handlers for more than two and half years and has received more than 15 drone-dropped consignments at multiple locations at Samba and Kathua including Manyari, Mawa etc.”
Police said that these consignments were further delivered by him at different locations in Jammu and also in Kashmir Valley on directions of his Pak Handler.
On his disclosure, police recovered AK 46 rifles, AK magazines, AK rounds, Pistols, magazines, rounds, silencers, grenades, weighing machine and weapon cleaning accessories etc.
Addressing a press conference here, Additional Director General Jammu Zone, Mukesh Singh said that Bashir Shaizan, who hails from Doda and currently operating from Pakistan, along with another operative with a codename of Albert, created this particular module in Jammu. Faisal Munir, resident of Talab Khatikan, was the mastermind. Munir was in touch with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives over the last two years.
“Faisal Munir was also involved in the 2000 Amarnath Yatra attack on Hari Singh High School in Jammu. He was arrested and was later convicted. He is again attached with LeT from the last two years,” ADG said.
Four to five more boys are also part of this Jammu-based module. Two among them have been arrested while others will be arrested soon, Singh said.
Singh said that these boys are residents of Kathua and Samba and two among them arrested so far are identified as Habib Ahmed and Mian Sohail.
He said that besides this, fifteen pistols recovered by police in Srinagar a few months ago were also sent to Kashmir by this module run by Faisal.
“A car used by this module for transporting the arms and ammunition has also been recovered,” Singh said.
ADGP Singh also said that police also busted two modules in Rajouri and Reasi districts. He said that these two modules were created by a militant namely Qasim of Mahore Reasi, who is presently operating from Pak, with Altaf Hussain and Talib Hussain Shah running these modules separately. Both Talib and Altaf, who are from Draj village of Budhal in Rajouri, have been arrested.
Altaf’s module carried out the ghastly grenade attack at the house of BJP leader Jasbir Singh at Khandli in Rajouri in which a child got killed while many members of the family sustained injuries.
Similarly, the terror module run by arrested LeT militant Talib had received five drone sorties in Rajouri last year.
“This module was given three tasks including receiving drone dropped weapons and smuggling those to Kashmir, IED explosions in Rajouri areas and then bringing militants from Kashmir to Pir Panjal side,” ADG Police Jammu zone said.
He further said that Talib and his module members have been found involved in five terror cases so far which include two explosions in Kandi police station areas, a grenade strike at Shahpur Budhal, shooting dead a young man Karamat Shah from Targain a few months ago and attempt to murder using a pistol on a man Ranjit Singh from Draj one and half years ago.
“All terror acts committed in Rajouri by these two modules have been worked and we also worked out Katra bus fire case to a major extent,” said ADG Jammu zone.