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The Jammu and Kashmir police arrested eight terrorist ground workers involved in facilitating the infiltration of foreign militants into the country, officials said on Monday.
The terror group was busted in Kathua district, where it was providing assistance to terror activities in Doda, Udhampur and upper Kathua districts along the Indo-Pak border.
More than 50 local residents are under investigation for their links to the terrorists and for providing them with food, shelter or communications assistance, a police spokesman said on Monday.
On June 26, three terrorists who attacked security forces were neutralized during an encounter in Gando area of Doda district, leaving five soldiers and a special police officer (SPO) injured.
The arrested members of the terrorist group were identified as Mohammad Latif (also known as Haji Latif, Akhtar Ali, Saddam, Noorani, Maqbool, Qasim al-Din Leah Khat and Khadim), from the villages of Ambe Nar, Badu, Jusana, Sofin and Kattar in Bhilwara belt of Kathua district,” the official said.
A spokesman called the arrests a major breakthrough and said they were part of ongoing police efforts to combat terror activities and dismantle their networks.
The spokesperson said: “The main character of the module, Lateef, maintains active communication with the terrorist controllers at the border and plays a vital role in receiving foreign terrorists who illegally enter India through the Samba-Kathua region. important role.
Besides providing initial shelter and logistical support, the module also guides terrorists to the mountainous and jungle areas of the Udhampur-Kathua-Doda region, especially around Mount Kailash in the Sanchakou area.
During interrogation, members of the module revealed that the terrorists killed in the Gando encounter had been assisted by the module to evade detection until they reached upstream.
The spokesman said that more than 50 residents of the local community who lived in temporary summer huts and grazed cattle were questioned for their contact with foreign terrorists.
Police said only a few of them failed to report the crime to police, and some even accepted money from terrorists in exchange for favors.
Those who promptly report contact with terrorists to the police are presumed innocent. However, the official said others with links to the terrorists and their masterminds were being investigated for liability.
A police spokesman warned that officers urged the public to inform them immediately of any interactions they had with terrorists and that failure to report such incidents was not only a criminal offense but also risked affecting access to government benefits.
(This report has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)
