INDIA. Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two operatives of the terror group- The Resistance Front (TRF) backed by Lashkar-e-Taiba in Jammu and Kashmir, on Sunday.
The accused were identified as Tawseef Ahmed Wani and Faiz Ahmed Khan, who were arrested for their involvement in the TRF conspiracy. Tawseef was arrested from Baramulla in North Kashmir and Faiz was arrested from Wampora in Anantnag of South Kashmir, an official statement said..
The agency conducted searches with the assistance of CRPF and J&K police at seven locations-Aaripora Zewan, Baghi Nand Singh Chattabal, Nowhatta, and other areas of Srinagar and multiple areas in Anantnag, Baramulla, and Bandipora districts in case (RC-04/2021/NIA/JMU), the official said, adding that more searches will be conducted in coming days.
The raids were carried out as part of its probe into online propaganda magazine ‘Voice of Hind’ (VOH) which was published monthly since Feb 2020 to incite and radicalize impressionable youth. It was the ‘ISIS-Voice of Hind’ case.
NIA was also investigating a case related to the recovery of an improvised explosive device (IED) from a LeT terrorist in Bathindi, Jammu on June 27. Earlier Three LeT terrorists were arrested in the case. The premier probe agency in the same case had carried out searches on September 21 this year at eight locations in J&K’s Anantnag, Baramulla, Kulgam, Srinagar, Doda, and Kishtwar districts.
The NIA said that during the probe they found that “Pakistan-based handlers of proscribed terror outfit LeT and their associates based in J&K had conspired to cause extensive terror activities to harm the general public. They had planned that responsibility for the terrorist acts so committed would be taken by the pseudo-acronym TRF to maintain plausible deniability and evade law enforcement agencies.
During the searches, the NIA said it found many digital devices including mobiles, pen drives, data storage devices, and other incriminating materials. A case was initially registered at Bahu Fort police station relating to the recovery of an IED from a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist in Bathindi, Jammu on June 27. However, the NIA registered the case (RC-04/2021/NIA/JMU dated July 19) again.
