Srinagar: Police on Thursday carried out raids at multiple locations across the Kashmir valley as part of its crackdown on the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), officials said.
The searches were conducted in the Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Budgam, and Kupwara districts, they said.
Officials said the raids targeted residential premises and other locations linked to JeI members and their associates “as part of the ongoing efforts to dismantle the terror ecosystem and its support structures”, officials said.
“The action followed credible intelligence suggesting that some JeI members were involved in anti-national activities,” they said.
Electronic devices, documents and literature were seized from the houses of individuals linked to the outfit and associated institutions. All recovered material has been seized for detailed scrutiny, according to officials.
In Srinagar, police conducted citywide raids on the residences and businesses of associates of the JeI.
Officials said the searches were carried out at the residences and business establishments of Umar Sultan Guru from Chanpora, Mohammad Abdullah Wani from Budgam, currently living in Mandir Bagh Baghat here, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat from Bemina, Mohammad Ramzan Naik alias Faheem from Lal Bazar, Bashir Ahmad Lone from Harwan, and Manzoor Ahmad, a resident of Nowgam Chowk.
Searches were also carried out at the residences of those associated with JeI-affiliated institutions, including Mohammad Ramzan Lone, a resident of Soura (Ramzana Memorial Educational Institute, Soura), Shahid Zahgeer, a resident of Buchpora Soura (Ramzana Memorial School, Soura), and Peer Giyas Ud Din from Nowgam (Falah Research Ramzan Centre, Nowgam), they added.
Some institutions associated with the JeI ideology were also raided. These include Jamiat-ul-Banaat, Kashmir University in Lal Bazar, Rahat Manzil (JK Yateem Khana) in Bagh-i-Nand Singh, Chattabal, Chinar Publication Trust in Maisuma, and Al-Kousar Book Shop in Maisuma.
The action was initiated based on credible inputs regarding activities deemed prejudicial to the security and stability of the region, they said.
Incriminating materials relevant to the investigation were seized for detailed examination, they added.
In north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, searches were also carried out at the Jamia Islamia Institute in Waripora, Handwara, based on information indicating suspected unlawful activities and possible links with the JeI, officials said.
Meanwhile, Police on Thursday inspected madrassas and mosques across Srinagar as part of an ongoing crackdown against “individuals and networks associated with terrorist organizations”.
Police have intensified raids in various parts of the valley as part of a crackdown in the aftermath of the blast in a car near the Red Fort in Delhi on November 10 and the busting of the “white collar terror module”.
Two religious preachers, Molvi Irfan from Shopian and Molvi Ishtiaq from Mewat in Haryana, have already been arrested in the case.
The Srinagar Police conducted city-wide inspections on madrassas and masjids across all zones, a police spokesman said.
He said the inspection is a part of an “ongoing crackdown against individuals and networks associated with terrorist organisations to dismantle the terror support ecosystem in the region and strengthen de-radicalisation efforts”.
Search teams, accompanied by executive magistrates and independent witnesses, inspected several premises to gather evidence related to terror-linked or radical activities inimical to the nation’s security and integrity, the spokesman said.
During the searches, the police inspected digital devices, documents and other materials, he added.
The searches form part of a continued effort to dismantle the terror support ecosystem in Srinagar and to prevent any conspiratorial or unlawful acts aimed at disturbing peace and public order, the spokesman said.
These operations were conducted strictly in accordance with legal procedures, ensuring transparency and accountability at every stage and will continue wherever credible inputs indicate the presence of individuals or materials linked to terror or radicalised activities prejudicial to the security of the nation, the spokesman added.
