News Analysis India

Tag: Jammu and Kashmir Police

  • J-K: Two IEDs Recovered From OGW Network Of Slain LeT Commanders In Pulwama |

    New Delhi: The security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama recovered IEDs packed in a plastic container along with the explosives, which weighed around six kg from the over-ground workers (OGWs) of slain LeT commanders Reyaz Dar and his associate Rayees Dar.

    The recovery followed after a joint cordon and search operation launched by the Pulwama police, Army and CRPF, the police said in a press release.

    During the search operation, the two terrorists, namely Reyaz Ahmed Dar, a resident of Sether Gund and Rayees Ahmed Dar, a resident of Larve in the Nihama village, fired upon the security forces, which led to the start of an operation.

    In the said operation, which took place on the intervening night of June 2 and 3, LeT commander Reyaz Dar and Rayees Dar, both category A, were neutralized by the security forces.

    The investigation further exposed the network of over-ground workers (OGWs), revealing that the terrorists were given harbour, shelter and logistics by the OGWs namely Bilal Ahmed Lone, Sajjad Ganie, and Shakir Bashir, all the residents of Nihama. Subsequently, all three persons were arrested.

    The investigation also revealed that the two slain terrorists had prepared IEDs, which were recovered from the possession of Shakir Bashir who hid them in the orchards. The said IEDs were packed in a plastic container along with the explosives, and active circuit trigger mechanism which weighed around six kg, and were later destroyed in situ by Pulwama police and army, the press release said.

    During the investigation, a huge quantity of arms and ammunition were recovered including AK-47 rifles, AK-47 rounds, pistols, etc, and other incriminating materials. In this regard, a case under section 307 IPC, 7/27 Arms Act, 16,18,19,20,38 UAPA was registered in Police Station Kakapora, the press release by Pulwama police said. 

  • Four terrorist associates arrested in Pulwama, JeM module busted: Jammu and Kashmir Police

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday said it arrested four terrorist associates in Pulwama district and busted a module of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit.

    “Police in Awantipora have busted a terror module of the proscribed terror outfit JeM by arresting four terrorist associates,” a police spokesman said.

    He identified them as Umar Farooq Dar, a resident of Shahbad; Soraj Manzoor Malik, a resident of Midoora; Irshad Ahmad Lone, a resident of Midora; and Afnan Javeed Khan, a resident of Shahbad.

    During preliminary investigation, the spokesman said, it was revealed that the arrested terrorist associates were involved in transportation of arms and ammunition and providing shelter and logistic support to terrorists Umais alias Usman and Abdul Rahman alias Jaat.

    Abdul Rahman is a foreign terrorist.

    Police have registered a case and begun investigation.

  • Kashmir cops arrest three for killing of salesman

    Express News Service

    SRINAGAR: Police on Tuesday said the police solved the November 9 killing of a salesman of a Pandit businessman in Srinagar by arresting three accused persons, recovering the pistol and vehicle used in the attack. A police spokesman said during investigation into killing of Ibrahim Ahmad, the salesman of Pandit businessman Sandeep Mawa, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the killing learnt about the involvement of three accused persons – Aejaz Ahmad Lone, Naseer Ahmad Shah and Showkat Ahmad Dar – all residents of Lelhar, Pulwama in the militancy incident. 

    “Subsequently, they were arrested and during questioning they confessed,” he said. On November 9 evening, militants had shot dead Ibrahim near the shop at Bohri Kadal area of Srinagar. According to police spokesman, the preliminary investigation has revealed that the trio were linked with militant outfit LeT (TRF) and they had executed the attack on directions of militant handler from across the border.

    “The arrested trio was in touch with Pak-based militant handlers for last 4 months,” he said. The spokesman said on disclosure of the arrested trio, weapon of offence (pistol along with 7 rounds) and a grenade were recovered. Besides, an Alto car was also seized on their disclosure After the killing of the salesman, the Pandit businessman had claimed that he was the target of the attack and his salesman was killed in “mistaken identity” by the militants.

    Sandeep had told The New Indian Express that he was alerted about an imminent threat to his life at 3.00 pm on November 9 and he had immediately left the shop in a vehicle other than the one used by him on a daily basis. 

  • J&K’s Hyderpora encounter: Slain Mohammad Amir’s father claims his son was not militant

    By PTI

    BANIHAL: Refuting the Jammu and Kashmir police’s claim that his son was a militant and was with a Pakistani terrorist when he was killed in Hyderpora encounter, Mohammad Latief Magray on Tuesday asked if this was the reward for being a nationalist and killing a militant with bare hands in his village over 15 years ago.

    Magray, a resident of Gool tehsil in Ramban district and father of Mohammad Amir, appealed to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to provide ‘justice to his family’ and also return the body of his son for proper burial.

    According to police, Amir and his Pakistani accomplice were killed in an encounter along with two others in Hyderpora locality of Srinagar on Monday evening, where an illegal call centre and a terror hideout were allegedly being run.

    ALSO READ | Hyderpora encounter: Cops say businessman killed in ‘crossfire’ to be counted as harbourer of terrorists

    A controversy erupted over the encounter following conflicting claims about the two deceased civilians — Altaf Bhat and Mudassir Gul – as their family members contested the police’s charge that they were “terror associates”, prompting demands by parties like the PDP and the NC for an impartial probe.

    Inspector-General of Police (Kashmir range) Vijay Kumar maintained that Gul was an active associate of militants and was running the illegal call centre.

    Altaf had given him the premises on rent.

    Magray said it was very unfortunate that his son is being dubbed as a militant.

    “My son was working with Altaf as an office boy for the last five months and was not a militant. After hearing about the news of his killing this morning, I along with some villagers visited Srinagar to bring back his body but was denied the same by police who claimed that he was a militant,” he told reporters here.

    ​ALSO READ | J&K: Doctor injured in Hyderpora encounter succumbs to injuries

    “We are nationalists and I myself killed a militant with bare hands in 2005. My sister and I escaped death with multiple bullet injuries when terrorists attacked our house to take revenge and forced us to migrate to Udhampur district,” he said and lamented, “Is this the reward for the sacrifice of my family?” After they returned to their village from Udhampur in 2011, the government set up a police picket for their protection in view of militant threats, he said, adding “the picket is still there”.

    According to locals, a militant Yasir Bhat of Gool was killed when Magray hit his head with a stone at his home in 2005.

    Magray said he raised his son in very difficult circumstances and sent him to Deoband Islamic Seminary where he had memorised the holy Quran by heart.

    He had also got his education in Islamic seminaries in Srinagar and Bandipora.

    He appealed to the Lt Governor for an impartial probe into the incident to provide ‘justice’ to his family and return the body of his son for proper burial.

  • Two terrorist associates arrested in Sopore: Jammu and Kashmir Police

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: Security forces on Tuesday arrested two terrorist associates linked with the proscribed Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) from Sopore area of Jammu and Kashmir and recovered a grenade and other “incriminating material” from their possession, a police spokesman said.

    “Based on specific information, a joint checkpoint was established by Police along with 22RR and 179Bn CRPF at Shalimar Colony crossing area of Sopore. During checking, two suspicious individuals were apprehended,” the spokesman said.

    He said they were identified as Asif Rasheed War and Altaf Hussain Najar, residents of Natnoosa in neighbouring Kupwara district.

    “During the search, incriminating materials including a hand grenade were recovered from their possession,” the spokesman said.

    On preliminary questioning, both the arrested accused “revealed that they were working as terrorist associates of proscribed terror outfit LeT and intended to lob the grenade at an undisclosed location in Kupwara with an intention to cause casualties,” he added.

  • As Pakistan pumps drugs, experts warn of losing a generation to narcotics in Kashmir

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: The narcotics menace, especially heroin, is scaling new heights in Kashmir with experts warning that a majority of the young people may fall prey to drug abuse and Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh blaming Pakistan for targeting youngsters by making them habitual to drugs.

    Taking a holistic view of the strife-torn Kashmir valley, police as well as social workers and medical doctors are of the opinion that while the violence caused by three decades of terrorism has consumed a generation, the drug menace will negatively effect the present generation.

    Singh pins the blame on Pakistan, saying “they are repeating the same dirty game that they played in Punjab” — first giving arms training and later spoiling the youth with drugs.

    Asked about the observations made by experts that Kashmir has lost a generation to conflict and may lose the next to drug abuse, Singh replied, “Definitely, yes and I have no two opinions about it”.

    Talking to PTI, Singh said the drug menace has shown a considerable increase in the last two years and the narcotics are smuggled from Punjab and Jammu borders.

    “We had some good seizures too. We know that sale proceeds of the drugs are pumped into funding terrorism and, therefore, we have been extra vigilant about it and taking efforts to curb it,” he said.

    The main areas affected by the drug menace are Karnah in North Kashmir, Anantnag in South Kashmir and some areas of Jammu, the police chief said.

    Police have taken a leading role in setting up drug de-addiction centres in Srinagar and Jammu while some more are coming up in North Kashmir, he added.

    “I guess it is time for socio-religious leaders to step in on an urgent basis to wean away youth from the menace. Today, we have time and tomorrow we may not have it. So, it is better to act now and act fast,” the police chief said in his appeal.

    Echoing similar views, Dr Mohammed Muzzafar Khan, who heads the de-addiction centre of police in Srinagar, feels that the number of such centres in the valley is minuscule compared to the magnitude of people affected by narcotics.

    Khan said the situation on the ground is worse as more and more young boys are getting addicted to narcotics.

    “Earlier, we used to see boys aged 18 and above (addicted to drugs) but now there are cases of 12 and 13-year-olds and the nature of drug abuse has changed as well. Earlier, it was charas or medicinal opioids but now heroin is replacing them,” Khan told PTI.

    He said youths get addicted to heroin quickly and within days become dependent on injections to inject drugs intravenously and the menace is spread across Kashmir in its urban and rural areas and among the rich and poor population.

    Khan said the Youth Development and Rehabilitation Centre headed by him is a 50-bed hospital.

    “It is a minuscule facility compared to the number of people affected. I would go on to say that the facility is non-existent…Around 10 years ago, we required de-addiction centres, but today we require a medical emergency facility because sometimes, an addict requires a ventilator immediately due to the overdose of heroine,” he said.

    Pointing out to a survey by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre of the AIIMS, New Delhi on the “Magnitude of Substance Use in India” in which Jammu and Kashmir was placed at the fifth spot with over 6 lakh people affected by drug abuse, Khan said, “I would now say that this is again a conservative estimate.

    “People do not confess to use of narcotics because of social stigma. Seeing the number of patients coming in every month, which ranges anywhere between 10 and 15 per day, I think more people are affected by it,” he added.

    Mir Zubair Rashid, co-founder of Concerned About Universal Social Empowerment (CAUSE), an NGO working for providing medical assistance and rehabilitation to drug addicts, said, “We lost one generation in conflict and next we will lose to drug abuse”.

    Rashid and his team have been working round-the-clock to take drug addicts to government hospitals for treatment and following up to ensure there is no relapse and that they remain sober.

    “See, post treatment counselling is very important. We are trying to do our bit, but I guess the entire society has to wake up,” he said.

    Mantasha Binti Rashid, a 2011-batch Kashmir Administrative Services officer, says, “Having actively worked on the issue since my university days, I am aware how stigmatised it is to have a family member or a child indulge in abuse. People hide it, attach shame to it and as a result, the treatment suffers along with the health, confidence, self-respect, and quality of life of the abuser”.

    “To treat narcotics abuse, a robust support structure, accepting family environment and a positive societal set-up is required. And our place does not have much to offer to youth who are already engulfed by this disease. It may be a choice to begin with but as it progresses, it becomes a disease a disease at an individual level and at a collective level too, if left unchecked,” she said.

  • Hizbul Mujahideen Operational commander among two militants killed in J&K’s Kulgam gunfight

    Express News Service

    SRINAGAR: The operational commander of Hizbul Mujahideen was among two militants killed in an overnight gunfight with security forces at Chawalgam area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district.

    A police official said “one militant was killed in the gunfight on Thursday while another was killed in the firefight on Friday early morning.”

    He identified the deceased militants as Shiraz Molvi and Yawar Bhat, both belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen.

    According to police official, Shiraz Molvi was A++ categorized militant and was active since 2016.

    “Shiraz was Hizb’s operational commander for Kashmir,” he said, adding 19 FIRs were registered against him.

    The official further said Yawar had joined militancy in March this year and two FIRs were registered against them.

    The joint contingent of police, CRPF and army had launched a search operation in Chawalgam area of Kulgam yesterday after receiving inputs about the presence of militants there.

    Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar said the militant killed in last evening’s encounter at Bemina area of Srinagar has been identified as Aamir Riyaz R/o Khrew, Pulwama.

    He was affiliated with militant outfit Mujahideen Gazwatul Hind and was a relative of one of the accused of February 14, 2019 Lethpora militant attack in which 40 CRPF men were killed, the IGP said.

    “Aamir was assigned the task to carry out a fidayeen attack,” the IGP said.

  • Police constable shot dead by terrorists in Srinagar

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: A policeman was shot dead by terrorists in the Batamaloo area of the city on Sunday, officials said.

    He was identified as Constable Tausif Ahmad, they said.

    “At about 8 pm, terrorists fired upon JKP Constable Tausif Ahmad near his residence at SD Colony, Batamaloo,” the officials added.

    They said the cop was critically injured and was taken to the SMHS hospital, where doctors declared he was brought dead. The area has been cordoned off, and a hunt has been launched to nab the attackers, the officials added.

    Meanwhile, the National Conference (NC) condemned the attack.

    Unequivocally condemn the cowardly & dastardly attack on 29 year old policeman in Batmaloo, Srinagar in which he lost his life. No words of condemnation would be enough! May Allah grant him a place in Jannat. Our hearts go out to his family and friends at this time of grief.
    — JKNC (@JKNC_) November 7, 2021
    “Unequivocally condemn the cowardly & dastardly attack on 29-year-old policeman in Batmaloo, Srinagar in which he lost his life. No words of condemnation would be enough! May Allah grant him a place in Jannat. Our hearts go out to his family and friends at this time of grief,” the party tweeted.

  • Sanction to prosecute Hurriyat leader, eight others sought in MBBS seat ‘sale’

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Police has moved the home department for granting sanction for prosecution against nine people, including a leader of a Hurriyat constituent and an advocate from South Kashmir, in a case related to “selling” of MBBS seats in Pakistan to Kashmiri students and using the money to support and fund terrorism, officials said on Sunday.

    The case was registered by the Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), a branch of the police’s CID, in July last year after receiving information through reliable sources that several unscrupulous persons, including some Hurriyat leaders, were hand in glove with some educational consultancies and were “selling” Pakistan-based MBBS seats and seats in other professional courses in many colleges and universities.

    At least four people were arrested by the CIK in August and it also named two of their accomplices who are at present in Pakistan and its occupied Kashmir areas.

    The CIK, after a thorough investigation, moved the Jammu and Kashmir home department and sought sanction for prosecution against the nine people under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), mandated according to the act.

    According to the officials, more evidence has surfaced during the probe in which it was also found that the money gathered from admissions had been passed on to some terror groups as well as secessionist groups for promoting enmity and waging war against the country.

    Significantly, the case could come in handy in carrying out with the provisions of banning hardline Hurriyat Conference as the chief of one of its constituents — Mohammad Akbar Bhat alias Zaffar Bhat of the Salvation Front — is among the nine against whom the sanction has been sought under the stringent UAPA.

    Some of the witnesses examined have indicated that many families approached Hurriyat leaders to avail the “programme”, a brainchild of Pakistan’s external snooping agency ISI, aimed at incentivising terrorism by compensating the family of killed terrorists by way of providing free of cost MBBS and engineering seats, the officials said.

    However, there have been instances where such families were disappointed as monetary consideration was given precedence over the intended objective of the “programme” run by the ISI, they said.

    The officials said that cost of seats ranged between Rs 10 to Rs 12 lakhs and in “some cases, the price was brought down on ‘sifarish’ (recommendation) of senior Hurriyat leaders, and depending upon the political heft of these secessionist leader, who intervened, concessions were extended to the aspiring student and his family”.

    CIK sleuths cracked the whip in August and arrested Bhat and three others for “selling” MBBS seats in Pakistan to Kashmiri students and using the money to support and fund terrorism.

    During the probe, it surfaced that MBBS and other professional degree related seats in many cases were preferentially given to those students who were close to family members or relatives of killed terrorists.

    There were also cases where the quota allotted to individual Hurriyat leaders were sold to anxious parents who wished their children to have MBBS and other professional degrees in one way or the other.

    More than 80 cases were studied in which either the students or their parents were examined for academic years between 2014-18.

    Searches were undertaken in about a dozen premises in the Kashmir Valley.

    The officials said that Bhat’s brother Altaf Ahmad Bhat and another arrested person’s brother Manzoor Ahmad Shah, were coordinating from across the border and facilitating the admissions.

    The two, who have been named accused in the case, had exfiltrated to Pakistan during the early 1990s for arms and ammunition training and have settled down on the other side.

    They played a key role on behalf of the ISI in facilitating matters pertaining to admissions under this category for this set of Hurriyat-linked persons in India as part of a nefarious design of pumping money into militancy and other terrorist related activities.

  • Cases registered against medical students in J-K for celebrating Pakistan’s victory over India

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Police has registered two cases against medical students here under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for celebrating Pakistan’s victory over India in a T20 international cricket match, officials said on Tuesday.

    The cases have been registered against the students living in hostels at the Government Medical College in Karan Nagar here and SKIMS Soura, the officials said.

    The two cases under the UAPA have been registered in Karan Nagar and Soura police stations respectively, they said.

    Videos of the celebrations of Pakistan’s victory against arch-rivals India at many places in the valley went viral on social media.

    The match took place on Sunday in Dubai.

    At many places, fire crackers were also burst following Pakistan’s victory.

    The J-K Students Association has, meanwhile, urged Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to withdraw the UAPA charges on humanitarian grounds.

    In a statement, national spokesperson of the Association, Nasir Khuehami, said the UAPA charges against students is a harsh punishment which will ruin their future and “will further alienate them”.

    “We are not justifying their act, but it will result in their career assassination. The charges will have serious consequences on academic and future career of the students,” he said.