Eight people, including three doctors, were arrested and 2,900 kg of explosives seized with the uncovering of a “white collar” terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Monday.
Among those arrested following a 15-day operation were Kashmir's Dr Muzammil Ganaie in Faridabad and Lucknow’s Dr Shaheen, who was brought by air to Srinagar for custodial interrogation, officials said. An AK-47 rifle was found in her car.
The joint operation by the police forces of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana as well as central agencies has achieved a major breakthrough, officials said. They did not divulge details of exactly when the arrests took place.
With this, the police have successfully thwarted the destructive designs of both the terror groups, the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH), an offshoot of the ISIS in India.
The 2,900 kg of explosive material includes ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sulphur. Of this, 360 kg of inflammable material suspected to be ammonium nitrate and some arms and ammunition were recovered from Ganaie’s rented accommodation in Faridabad, said a statement from the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
The recoveries from various places include a Chinese Star pistol with ammunition, a Beretta pistol with ammunition, an AK-56 rifle with ammunition, an AK Krinkov rifle with ammunition as well as explosives, chemicals, reagents, inflammable material, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote control, timers and metal sheets, it said.
Ganaie, a teacher at the Al Falah University in the Haryana town abutting New Delhi, was arrested after the Jammu and Kashmir Police named him as a wanted person in a case involving putting up posters supporting the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Srinagar.
Of the eight arrested, seven are from Kashmir — Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid from Nowgam in Srinagar; Maulvi Irfan Ahmad from Shopian; Zameer Ahmad Ahanger alias Mutlasha from the Wakura area of Ganderbal; Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie alias Musaib from Koil area of Pulwama; and Dr Adeel from Wanpora area of Kulgam. Dr Shaheen is based in Lucknow.
Several Pakistani numbers were found on the phones of Ganaie and Adeel, officials said. They could be the possible handlers of the network.
On October 19, multiple JeM posters were found pasted at different locations in Bunpora Nowgam area of the city here, threatening and intimidating police and security forces. That was the starting point of the investigation, leading to the unravelling of the inter-state terror network.
"The investigation revealed a white collar terror ecosystem, involving radicalised professionals and students in contact with foreign handlers, operating from Pakistan and other countries," said a statement from the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
It said the group has been using encrypted channels for indoctrination, coordination, fund movement and logistics. "Funds were raised through professional and academic networks, under the guise of social/charitable causes. The accused were found involved in identifying persons, to radicalise, initiate and recruit them to terrorist ranks, besides raising funds, arranging logistics, procurement of arms/ammunition and material for preparing IEDs," it said.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the sophisticated terror module allegedly used professional and academic networks as a front, collecting funds under the false pretense of supporting social and charitable causes. The accused were allegedly involved in a wide range of illegal activities, including the crucial process of identifying, radicalising, and recruiting new members for terrorist organisations. Their role also involved managing logistics, collecting funds, and securing weapons and materials for IEDs, it said.
"In a major counter-terrorism success, Jammu and Kashmir Police has busted an inter-state and transnational terror module, linked with proscribed terrorist organisations JeM and AGuH. The operation has led to the arrest of key operatives and recovery of a massive cache of arms, ammunition and explosives, during coordinated searches in J-K and other states," a police spokesperson said in Srinagar.
Briefing reporters in Faridabad earlier in the day, Commissioner of Police Satender Kumar Gupta said raids were conducted at Ganaie’s premises on Sunday. "I want to clarify it is not RDX," he said.
Besides, other material that can be used in terror activities was also seized from his room. This included 20 timers, four timers with batteries, 5 kg of heavy metal, a walkie-talkie set, batteries, an assault rifle with three magazines and 83 live rounds, one pistol with eight live rounds, two empty cartridges and two additional magazines.
Gupta refused to give any more details. "There are many other operational details and since the operation is ongoing, these cannot be shared at the moment," he said. Asked where the accused were intending to carry out the terror act, Gupta said, "The investigations are on."
"Keeping in view national security, there are many details about this module and it is not appropriate to share these at the moment," he said.
According to police in Srinagar, there could be more arrests in the case. The role of a few more individuals has surfaced who will be traced and apprehended.
During the ongoing investigation, searches were conducted at multiple locations by J-K Police in Srinagar, Anantnag, Ganderbal and Shopian districts. J-K Police also conducted searches at Faridabad, in tandem with Haryana Police, and at Saharanpur, with the UP Police, he added.
Financial investigation, regarding the flow of funds, is on and all linkages are being traced and addressed expeditiously, the police statement said.
