Lashkar Mustafa, TRF chiefs arrested: DGP
Jammu Tawi, Feb 14: Averting a major tragedy, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have detected a seven-kilogram Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near a crowded general bus stand area in Jammu. Officials said terrorists were planning to set off an explosion on the second anniversary of the 2019 Pulwama attack.
Averting a major tragedy, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have detected a seven-kilogram Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near a crowded general bus stand area in Jammu. Officials said terrorists were planning to set off an explosion on the second anniversary of the 2019 Pulwama attack.
Jammu Inspector General of Police (IG) Mukesh Singh said they had inputs about terror groups planning an attack on the anniversary of the Pulwama attack. “We were on a high alert as we had inputs that terror groups were planning an attack on the anniversary of Pulwama attack. Last night we arrested a person named Sohail and recovered 6-6.5 kgs of IED from his possession,” he told reporters Sunday afternoon.
Last night, we also recovered 15 small IEDs and 6 pistols from Samba, Singh said.
The arrested accused revealed during the probe that he studies in Chandigarh and had received a message from Pakistan's Al Badr Tanzeem to plant IED here, said.
The cop told the media that Sohail was given three-four target locations to place the IED, after which he was supposed to take a flight to Srinagar where an Over Ground Worker of Al Badr Tanzeem named Athar Shakeel Khan would have received him.
Zahoor Ahmad Rather, a top terrorist affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF) who was wanted in connection with the killing of three BJP workers and a policeman in south Kashmir last year, was arrested in Bari Brahmana area of Samba on Saturday. Earlier on February 6, self-styled commander of the Lashkar-e-Mustafa (LeM), Hidayatullah Malik, alias “Hasnain”, was held from the Kunjwani area of Jammu.
Two years ago on this day, at least 40 jawans were martyred in a dastardly terror attack by Pakistan-sponsored Jaish-e-Mohammed on a CRPF convoy of 70 vehicles in Pulwama.
In his address to media persons, DGP Dilbag Singh said arrest of two chief commanders of TRF and Lashkar-e Mustafa were result of successful operations.
He said that Lashkar-e-Toiba created an outfit by the name of The Resistance Front while Jaish-e-Mohammad created Lashkar-e-Mustafa to carry out militant activities.
Singh said that the major operations of arrests were carried out by the Anantnag police and Jammu police.
He said that the militant outfits operating in Pakistan are trying to give new faces to militant outfits in J&K and from the last several months two new groups were floated by the name TRF and Lashkar-e-Mustafa.
He said that TRF is being run by Lashkar-e-Toiba while the militant outfit Lashkar-e-Mustafa is being run by Jaish-e-Mohammad to carry out militant activities outside Jammu and Kashmir also.
“the chief commander of Lashkar-e-Mustafa, Hidayatullah Malik was active from the last few months, was arrested by the police. He was OGW for a long time and later became active to carry out militant activities sponsored by Jaish-e-Mohammad,.” DGP said.
He termed the arrest as a major success for the security forces and there has been major revelations by the Hidayatullah during interrogation.
He said in another major success, one more chief commander of another militant out TRF being run by Lashkar-e-Toiba, Zahoor Rather alias Sahil and Khalid was also arrested.
Singh said that Zahoor was arrested during an operation on the intervening night of 12 and 13 February. “Zahoor was active for a long time and was a trained militant. He was leading TRF. He was also working as an OGW. In 2002 he was working with Hizbul Mujahideen,” he said.
Singh said that Zahoor remained active for 5 years and later surrendered in 2006 and he again became active in 2009 and in 2009 his handlers sitting in Pakistan knew his potential.
He said that Zahoor was running TRF in Jammu and Kashmir and was involved in killing 3 BJP leaders in Kulgam last year.
Singh said that intensive questioning of Zahoor Ahmad is going on and it is expected that some more breakthroughs will take place trough Zahoor.
