Srinagar, Feb 16, KDC: Recently constituted State Investigation Agency (SIA) with mandate to investigate crimes connected with militancy and secessionism, conducted overnight raids at ten different locations in various districts of south and central Kashmir.
SIA in a statement to news agency Kashmir Dot Com (KDC) said “These raids were primarily focused on the network of JESH (JeM). Ten identified persons who were part of OGW modules and taking instructions from Jaish commanders have been arrested.”
“The module whose members were organised in to sub-modules, in the form of verticals, so that in the event of detection of one member the bigger network does not get compromised had been painstakingly discovered through discreet surveillance in which corroborative intelligence capable of being converted to admissible evidence in court was used to ascertain and confirm the Jaish OGW membership of the individuals. The module could be connected to other modules through higher levels of Jaish leadership. Their discovery is likely as the investigation rolls out in coming days,” they said.
They further said the detected portion of the module had been active in recruiting other young persons, arranging finances, transporting weapons in south and central Kashmir besides providing other logistic support.
In the searches, besides arrests, cell phones, SIM cards, records to show use of banking channels and even a dummy pistol were seized. Among arrested persons, there is one at whose house four militants had been killed on 4th of April 2020.
They further said “The hitherto unknown module was working towards furthering terror activities in south and central Kashmir. The arrested members were mostly recruiting vulnerable school and college going students as a few of them are students themselves. They were in close connection with the regular militants of Jaish outfit and had been under surveillance for quite some time.”
The digital records seized is being sent to FSL for evidence analysis and the arrested persons would be presented before the NIA court in Srinagar seeking permission for custodial questioning, it said.
It is believed the arrests and subsequent follow up investigation would dent the upper ground network of Jaish and degrade its ability to undertake militancy activities across valley, the statement added. (KDC)
