Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 7: In a significant counter-terrorism breakthrough, Srinagar Police have dismantled a major Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) module with deep roots across multiple states across the country, arresting two Pakistani nationals who had been operating on Indian soil for nearly sixteen years.
The operation, coordinated by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Srinagar, was conducted in close coordination with the Punjab Police following actionable intelligence.
The two Pakistani operatives — identified as Abdullah alias Abu Huraira and Abu Usman alias Khubaib — were apprehended on March 27 from Malerkotla in Punjab and subsequently transferred to Srinagar for interrogation.
Investigators say the duo had infiltrated India approximately sixteen years ago and, during their active tenure in the Kashmir Valley, handled or commanded close to 40 foreign terrorists.
Interrogation of the arrested operatives unravelled a terror network operating across Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and New Delhi.
According to police, the two men were primarily engaged in recruiting local youth, providing arms training, supplying weapons and ammunition, and facilitating terror attacks over a period exceeding fifteen years.
Acting on disclosures made during interrogation, security agencies detained approximately 24 individuals for questioning.
Of these, five have been formally arrested — the two Pakistani nationals and three local residents: Naqeeb Bhat, Ghulam Mohammad Mir, and Adil Rashid Bhat. Three of the five accused are residents of the Zakura area on the outskirts of Srinagar. They are alleged to have provided logistical support to the operatives, including shelter, food, and forged documentation.
Officials also confirmed that a woman was among those detained during the course of the investigation.
One foreign terrorist linked to the module remains at large. Security agencies have launched a manhunt to trace and apprehend him.
The operation yielded a substantial cache of arms and ammunition, including four AK-47 rifles and three pistols.
Searches were conducted at 19 locations spread across Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Haryana, resulting in the seizure of extensive incriminating material.
Among the recovered items were forged identity cards and travel documents used by foreign operatives to move freely within India and, in some cases, abroad.
Several laptops and mobile phones were also seized, containing evidence of sustained communication with handlers based in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
SIM cards and digital intercepts further exposed a sophisticated cross-border communication network that had operated largely undetected for years.
Investigators have additionally uncovered evidence of an entrenched financial support system used to fund the module’s activities over the past sixteen years — pointing to a level of organisational depth and external backing that authorities say makes the bust all the more significant.
Police described the operation as a major success in disrupting terror infrastructure and neutralising a network that had remained active and embedded within civilian life for well over a decade.
Officials said the crackdown is part of a broader, intensified drive to dismantle Pakistan-based handler networks operating inside India, and warned that all individuals found to be aiding or abetting terror activities in the region would be pursued without exception. |
