Srinagar- The National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out raids at five locations in Pulwama and Shopian districts of South Kashmir on Thursday in a militancy conspiracy case, officials said.
“As part of its ongoing investigations in the Jammu and Kashmir militancy conspiracy case, the NIA conducted another round of raids at the premises of hybrid militants and overground workers (OGWs) of the outfits and affiliates of Pakistan-backed banned militant organisations,” an NIA spokesman said.
Some of these newly-floated outfits, including The Resistance Front (TRF) which is a shadow organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba, have been found issuing threats of carrying out attacks in the Union territory through social media, the officials said.
The raids were conducted at five locations in Shopian, Awantipora and Pulwama.
The NIA also raided the premises of sympathisers and cadres of the newly floated outfits, namely TRF, United Liberation Front Jammu and Kashmir (ULFJ&K), Mujahideen Gazwat-ul-Hind (MGH), Jammu and Kashmir Freedom Fighters (JKFF), Kashmir Tigers, PAAF and others. These outfits are affiliated to various banned Pakistan-backed organisations like Laskhar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al-Badr, Al-Qaeda, etc.
The spokesman said several digital devices containing large volumes of incriminating data were recovered during the searches, which have once again put the spotlight on OGWs as an important part of the militant ecosystem in the Kashmir Valley, which is being dismantled on a continuous basis.
Also known as hybrid militants, they provide support to militants and militants based in Pakistan, he added.
The NIA had registered a suo motu case (RC-05/2022/NIA/JMU) on June 21, 2022, to investigate the involvement of the cadres and OGWs of the various outfits in spreading activities relating to terror, violence and subversion in J-K.
These cadres and workers have been involved in the collection and distribution of sticky bombs/magnetic bombs, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), funds, narcotic substances and arms/ammunition.
The NIA said its investigations have revealed that Pakistan-based operatives were using social media platforms to promote terror. Drones were being used by them to deliver arms/ammunition, explosives, narcotics, etc. to their operatives and cadres in the Kashmir Valley.
The militancy conspiracy relates to plotting by the banned outfits in both physical and cyber space to unleash violent terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir with sticky bombs, IEDs and small arms.
The organisations, supported by their masters in Pakistan, have been conspiring to commit acts of militancy and violence, by radicalizing local youths and mobilizing overground workers, to disturb peace and communal harmony in the Union territory, the agency said.
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