Srinagar: Police on Saturday raided several places across the Valley as part of its crackdown on Union Territory natives allegedly involved in “aiding terror operatives from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir”, officials said.
The raids were carried out in Anantnag, Sopore, Pulwama, Shopian, Bandipora, Budgam, Awantipora, Ganderbal, Kulgam and Handwara areas, they said.
In Anantnag district, police searched the residences of the banned terror outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’s self-styled operational commander Ghulam Nabi alias Aamir Khan and financial head Zaffer Bhat in the Liver area of Pahalgam.
Khan and Bhat, who fled their homes in the 1990s and crossed over to Pakistan, “have been involved in terror activities directed against India. The duo has been operating from across the border since then,” officials said.
In Handwara, searches were carried out in the houses and premises of the relatives and associates of terror operatives currently operating from across the border and individuals linked with banned organisations, they said.
The officials said the exercise was aimed at tracking any links, material support, or communication being extended to these anti-national elements from within the area.
In Kulgam, the search operations targeted individuals involved in “facilitating, funding, and promoting terror activities” at the behest of their relatives based across the border.
Several relatives and associates of active Jammu and Kashmir Nationals Operating from Pakistan (JKNOP) members were booked under relevant legal provisions for their sustained involvement in anti-national activities, including providing logistical support, spreading propaganda, and aiding recruitment.
In Sopore, police launched a crackdown against Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and associates of “terrorist handlers operating from across the border in Pakistan”. As part of the ongoing operation, a large number of suspected OGWs and sympathisers have been picked up for questioning from different areas, an official said.
“These individuals are being thoroughly interrogated to trace their linkages, financial conduits, and communication channels with handlers based in Pakistan,” he said.
The officials said the action forms part of a sustained strategy to dismantle the terror ecosystem, which provides funding, logistics, and local facilitation to active terrorists and cross-border handlers.
“Many suspects have been booked and lodged in sub-jail under preventive detention laws, while security proceedings have been initiated against others to prevent them from aiding or abetting anti-national activities,” he said.
According to officials, searches are continuing at multiple locations across the Sopore police district, as teams work to identify and disrupt local support networks of terror outfits.
A police spokesperson said similar raids were carried out in Shopian, Pulwama, Ganderbal, Budgam and Awantipora police districts as well.
Meanwhile, in Jammu’s Doda district, police called scores of suspected people for questioning amid a massive crackdown on OGWs and terror associates.
The searches are continuing at multiple locations across the hilly district amid intelligence reports that terrorists operating in the higher reaches are looking for safe hideouts in the plains during the ensuing winter, officials said.
“Police in Doda have initiated a major crackdown against OGWs, former terrorists and associates of terrorist handlers from across the border, and a significant number of suspects have been called for questioning to uncover their connections and funding channels linked to terrorist networks,” a police spokesperson said.
He said the crackdown is part of the broader strategy to disrupt the support system for local terrorists.
“Several suspects have been booked under preventive laws, while security actions are underway against others involved in anti-national activities,” the spokesperson said.
He said the ongoing searches are targeting multiple suspected locations, including those of terrorists who were killed or their houses where the encounter took place, to identify local support networks of terror outfits.
“Enhanced technical and human surveillance has been implemented to monitor potential sleeper cells and online propagandists targeting local youth. The operation aimed at safeguarding the community from extremist influences and ensuring peace,” he said.
The spokesperson said the joint operations are being coordinated with Central Armed Police Force units for effective counter-terrorism efforts.
“Police remain committed to dismantling the terror ecosystem and maintaining public safety across the district,” the spokesperson said.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Doda, Sandeep Mehta, said the force would continue to act firmly against all those involved in aiding or abetting terror activities.
“No individual associated with anti-national elements will be spared. Our focus remains on ensuring peace, security, and the well-being of every citizen in the district,” he said.
