SRINAGAR: The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday (August 8, 2020) arrested at least six over-ground workers (OGW) of Pakistan-backed terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba in connection with the terror-financing case probe.


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Sharing more details, Mukesh Singh, Inspector General of Police, Jammu, said, “After receiving inputs about a terror-financing network in Jammu that is assisting Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Special Operations Group (SOG) Jammu arrested and interrogated one Mudasir Farooq Bhat. During interrogation, he admitted about his links with LeT.’’


Singh further informed that on the basis of information received from Bhat, the SOG arrested 5 other people associated with ''Lashkar-e-Taiba.’’


They have been identified as Tauqir Ahmad Bhat, Asif Bhat, Khalid Latif Bhat, Gazi Iqbal & Tariq Hussain Mir, he said. One 'Maulavi' (cleric) is also among those who have been arrested, the IG Mukesh Singh said. With this, the J&K Police has busted a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror financing network in Jammu, Singh said.


A case has been registered under Section 38 (Membership of LeT) and 40 (Financing and other support activities) of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act," said Singh.


He said that all these accused were working for Haroon Ilias Khubeb (Mohammad Naveen Bhat), resident of Doda. Haroon was trained with the LeT in Pakistan in 1997. 


"Haroon came back to Doda and was involved in LeT activities. He then went back to Pakistan in 2006. Since then he has been working for the organisation and is active there," Singh said.


"Haroon has created this network in Jammu which had been taking part in LeT activities for the last two-three years. A man named Abid Ahmad Bhat was recruited and was killed in an encounter in 2018. Another person named Jamaldin was recruited and had been arrested in 2019 and is in jail at present," the Inspector General said.


They were being paid for performing terror activities and a total of Rs 12.5 lakh has been transferred to them through Attari Border and other channels. Hawala transactions were made through Mumbai and some of the money was transferred through electronic mode, the IGP informed.


IG Mukesh Singh said they were planning something bigger in the future. “We don't have any specific information regarding any activity that they were planning on the 5th or 15th of August, but yes the attempt was to reactivate and probably, they were planning something bigger in future,” IG Singh said.


The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been probing the J& terror funding case and the agency has arrested several people having links to Pakistan-based terror groups and sympathisers in connection with the case.


The central probe agency had registered cases against unknown people in connection with the cross-border terror financing for jihadi activities in Kashmir and carried out raids at several locations in J&K.