The National Investigation Agency (NIA), as part of its investigations in a terror conspiracy case, arrested two suspects involved with terror groups from Srinagar on Friday. The duo was associated with proscribed outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its offshoot, The Resistance Force (TRF), among others, said officials.
The suspects — Mushaib Fayaz Baba alias Shoaib (20) and Hilal Yaqoob Deva alias Sethi Soab (35) — were from south Kashmir’s Shopian district, said an NIA spokesperson, adding: “They were working for Pakistan-based commanders and handlers of proscribed terrorist organisations such as LeT and its shadow outfit TRF, among others.”
Investigations revealed that the suspects were in constant touch with handlers/commanders and active members of terror groups through social media. “They were working as overground workers (OGWs) of these organisations and had been actively involved in transporting weapons and funds on the directions of the Pak-based commanders/handlers as part of a bigger conspiracy,” the spokesperson said. As per the NIA probe, these terror outfits were involved in targeting minorities, migrants, and security personnel in the Union Territory.
The conspiracy was planned — both physically and through cyberspace using encrypted social media apps — by cadres and OGWs of several proscribed organisations in cohort with their commanders based in Pakistan to disturb peace and communal harmony by waging war against the Indian government, said the spokesperson. These cadres and OGWs were actively involved in the collection and distribution of huge consignments of narcotics, cash, small arms/weapons, improvised explosive devices of different kinds including remote-controlled sticky bombs/magnetic bombs. Such terrorist hardware and IEDs were either delivered using drones or assembled locally for carrying out attacks in J&K, revealed investigations, the spokesperson said.
Friday’s arrests followed a series of raids conducted recently by the agency at the residences of overground workers of banned terrorist organisations and their newly floated offshoots/affiliates, the spokesperson said, adding, “Several digital devices were seized during the raids which were scrutinised by the agency as part of its investigations into the (terror conspiracy) case.”
