Kashmiri youths hired hands for JeM from UP: ATS sleuths

LUCKNOW: Revealing a sinister design of Pakistan-based banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) to spread its tentacles outside Jammu and Kashmir and conduct another ‘fidayeen’ attack, Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (UPATS) said on Tuesday that the two Kashmiri youths, Shahnawaz Teli and Aquib Ahmad Malik arrested from Deoband, Saharanpur for having links with JeM had recruited hands for the terror outfit from J&K and UP and have confessed to it. The two terrorists were sent to jail on Tuesday as their tenure in police custody got over on March 5. They have been lodged in Lucknow district jail.

ATS sleuths said that now they have concrete evidence of Shahnawaz and Aquib having links with JeM. They said that Shahnawaz and Aquib were in touch with JeM since last one year and had recruited 12-14 youths for the outfit. They used to approach youths via internet and then called them to their room and radicalised them. Both had been in touch with Hizbul-Mujahideen also, said ATS officials.

“We have recovered BBM messenger and WhatsApp chats of the duo with some top terrorists of JeM and their photos with Hizbul and JeM men killed by security forces in the Valley recently. The person who visited them a day before their arrest from Deoband was also from JeM. The two have confessed that they recruited members for JeM,” said Asim Arun, Inspector General of police (IG), ATS.

The sleuths found a voice message sent from a virtual number used by Shahnawaz to a senior JeM terrorist, saying, “Inshallah 10-15 din mein fidyaeen tayyar karke main auunga aur phir attack karenge.”

They have revealed some names which they supposedly recruited for JeM and all of them our under surveillance, said IG ATS. “We have got some virtual numbers with which the two interacted frequently, the numbers have been found to be of some Kashmiris who are under scanner. We might seek their remand once again when required,” Arun added.