Srinagar: The Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) unit of Jammu & Kashmir Police Wednesday claimed to have struck deep into the financial underbelly of terrorism, by busting a “terror funding network” in Delhi and arresting two Kashmiris.
CIK said it conducted surgical raids on a business unit titled ‘Shalimar Textiles’ at Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi, and dismantled a “sophisticated cross-border terror funding syndicate”.
The raids, conducted under FIR No. 02/2024 registered at Police Station CIK Srinagar, were backed by legal sanction through search warrants issued by the Special Judge designated under the NIA Act at Srinagar, and are part of a wider investigation under UAPA Sections 13, 38, 39, 40 r/w 120-B IPC, CIK said in a statement here.
It said the case unravels a “chilling conspiracy orchestrated by handlers and commanders of proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) from across the LoC, who in connivance with Pakistani nationals settled in Gulf nations and other foreign territories, are pumping terror money into the heart of Kashmir through a network of couriers disguised as pilgrims, businessmen, and expatriates.”
The statement said it has come to light that one Mohammad Ayoub Bhat, a resident of Budgam, who operated a business establishment titled ‘Shalimar Textiles’ in Lajpat Nagar, “was masquerading as a legitimate trader while acting as a key financial conduit for LeT’s terror activities in the Valley”.
“Working hand-in-glove with him was Mohammad Rafiq Shah, a resident of SDA Colony Bemina, Srinagar, both of whom were at the nerve centre of this covert financial operation,” the CIK statement said.
“Explosive digital evidence, including suspicious communications with Pakistani handlers, foreign remittances routed through underground hawala networks, and encrypted chats with terror affiliates, has been seized. The devices and documents recovered are being forensically analyzed and are expected to blow the lid off a larger, deeply entrenched funding web,” it added.
Acting on confessions and technical leads, CIK teams along with Delhi Police teams searched premises in Lajpat Nagar, recovering “vital documentary and electronic evidence that is expected to fuel the next stage of this high-profile investigation”.
Initial interrogation of arrested individuals has already begun, “peeling back layers of an international terror financing ring, involving foreign-based handlers, Gulf-based sympathizers, and local Over Ground Workers (OGWs); all connected through a covert cash pipeline aimed at fomenting unrest and bloodshed in Jammu & Kashmir,” the statement said.
Kulgam operation continues on 6th day
The anti-terrorist operation in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district entered the sixth day on Wednesday as security forces continued to battle the “terrorists hiding in the deep forest area”.
A senior police official said the security forces were using all means, including drones and helicopters, to track down the terrorists in the difficult terrain in the forest area.
“The operation has entered its sixth day and is going on,” the official said, adding intermittent exchange of firing is going on.
Two terrorists have been killed while at least two security forces personnel were injured in the gunfight which began on Friday after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in a forest area at Akhal in the south Kashmir district, following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists there.
After an initial exchange of fire between the two sides on Friday evening, the operation was halted for the night, but the cordon was strengthened, and additional reinforcements were rushed to the area, officials said.
Firing resumed on Saturday morning, during which the two terrorists were killed, they said.
The identity and group affiliation of the slain terrorists has not been ascertained so far, they added.
