Police bust 3 LeT terror modules in Jammu, arrest 6

One module was busted in Jammu and two in Rajouri, Jammu Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Singh said. Three militants, one each from Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts, have been arrested in connection with the Jammu terror module, he added.

Singh said Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Bashir Shezan (code-named Anwar) of Doda had set up the Jammu module by activating Faisal Muneer of Talab Khatikan area in Jammu. Muneer had 4-5 more boys working with him, the ADGP said, adding that two of them – Mian Sohail and Habeeb — have been arrested from Kathua district, while a hunt is on for the others.

An AK-47 rifle, five pistols, along with two silencers and 15 magazines, eight grenades, a weighing machine and a large quantity of ammunition was seized at the instance of Muneer, he said.

This terror module was responsible for receiving arms, ammunition and explosives airdropped in Jammu by drones from Pakistan and transport them to militants in Kashmir, he added. They had received more than 15 drone sorties of arms, ammunition and explosives during the past two-and-half years.

The joint police teams from Kathua district and SOG Jammu unearthed the module following arrest of Habib of Kathua in connection with the seizure of seven sticky bombs and an equal number of UGGL grenades from a drone that was shot down by the BSF in May this year. He confessed to having received multiple consignments.

His questioning led the police teams to Faisal Munir of Talab Khatikan in Jammu city and Miayan sohail of Kathua, who, too, were arrested. Faisal accepted his link with Pak-based handlers and having received more than 15 drone-dropped consignments, the ADGP said.

Faisal was among several people arrested following the unsuccessful fidayeen attack at government-run Hari Singh High School in Jammu city in 2000. He was convicted in the case and was later released on bail, he said, adding he again got in contact with the LeT and set up the terror module.

In Rajouri district, Singh said police busted two terror modules being run by Talib Hussain Shah, alias Abu Ahmad, and Altaf Hussain Shah, both from Kotranka’s Draj area.

Talib, along with a Kashmiri militant, was recently apprehended by villagers in Reasi district’s Mahore area and huge quantity of arms and ammunition seized from them. Police said Talib was instrumental in almost all the major terror activities in the Pir Panjal area over the past three years.

Pointing out that he was tasked to carry out attacks on security forces, minority community and prominent political figures, the ADGP said Talib had received five major consignments of arms, ammunition, explosives and Indian currency dropped by Pakistan drones, which are being investigated.

Following his questioning, police have seized three UBGL grenades, one AK-47 rifle along with four magazines containing 129 armour-piercing rounds, two pistols, one Glock pistol silencer, 40 Chinese pistol rounds, two IEDs weighing 2kg and 5kg, five remote control devices and four pressure mines.

Apart from this, he had also received two groups of militants who were transported from Kashmir to Rajouri by Talib’s associate Mohammad Shabir of Draj who has also been arrested.

Another Lashkar module was being run by Altaf Hussain Shah of Draj who too has been arrested, the ADGP said, adding he was involved in grenade attack on the house of a local BJP leader in Rajouri in which a child was killed.