LeT terror module busted with arrest of two

Chandigarh : In a joint operation with central agencies, the Punjab Police thwarted a possible terrorist attack in the border state by busting a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)-backed module and arresting two operatives, a top officials said on Saturday. Police also recovered from their possession two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), as many hand grenades, one .30 bore pistol with two magazines and 24 cartridges, eight detonators, one timer switch and four batteries. Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the terror module is being handled by Firdaus Ahmed Bhat, an active Lashkar-e-Taiba member.

Those arrested have been identified as Uzair Ul Haq of Rahpora Khudwani in Jammu and Kashmir and Raj Mohammad Andleeb of Kherwan, also in J&K. Police chief Yadav said the operation was launched following intelligence that the Punjab border is being used by the LeT for smuggling a huge consignment of arms and explosives and their two members are expected to retrieve the cache in the area of Kathu Nangal. Police’s state special operation cell (SSOC) wing of Amritsar and central agencies launched the operation and apprehended the two persons with the weapon consignment, Yadav said.

He said preliminary investigations revealed that the accused were recruited in a terror organisation by Firdaus Ahmed Bhat and the militant outfit was planning to use them to target prominent personalities and places of strategic importance in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab to disturb the peace and harmony of the country. The DGP said both the arrested persons were in constant touch with Bhat via various social media platforms. On Thursday, Bhat sent them to Amritsar to collect the consignment of weapons and bring them to the Kashmir valley, according to the police officer. Assistant Inspector General, SSOC Amritsar, Sukhminder Singh Mann said it was also revealed that Uzair Ul Haq, a kin of Firdaus Ahmed Bhat, was earlier arrested in two cases pertaining to stone pelting in the Kulgam district. Raj Mohammad Andleeb has no previous criminal record, he added.