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Five LeT operatives remanded in police custody for 10 days in Kashmir

Srinagar, Apr 8 (PTI) A local court on Wednesday sent five operatives - two Pakistani nationals and their three local supporters - affiliated with proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit to 10 days police custody here, an official said. The five were arrested following the uncovering of a "deep-rooted" interstate LeT module headed by Pakistani terrorist Abdullah, alias Abu Hureira, who had been on the run for 16 years and successfully established bases outside the Union Territory. Hureira, along with another Pakistani terrorist Usman alias Khubaib and three Srinagar residents identified as Mohammad Naqeeb Bhat, Adil Rashid Bhat, and Ghulam Mohammad Mir alias Mama, was arrested on Tuesday. The five were produced in a local court in Srinagar which remanded them in police custody for 10 days, the official said. They said a number of suspected persons were picked up for questioning as the probe is underway to identify additional associates, financiers, facilitators, safe houses and inter-state linkages. The busting of the LeT network in a major operation comes six months after the dismantling of a "white-collar" terror cell centred at Faridabad's Al Falah University that was linked to the Red Fort blast on November 10, 2025. The operation, which began on March 31 and was monitored by Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat who camped in Srinagar, has unveiled the funding and financial pattern of the LeT, officials said. The terrorists used forged documents and identities to create a network not just in Jammu and Kashmir, but in several other states, they added. Over the last few days, Srinagar police along with police forces of other states and central agencies carried out searches at 19 locations across Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Haryana. The raids led to the recovery of a large cache of weapons, including four AK assault rifles, pistols, hand grenades and electronic gadgets. The two Pakistani terrorists are categorised as 'A+' grade militants and the officials said they infiltrated India approximately 16 years ago and remained active across various districts of the Kashmir Valley, commanding around 40 foreign terrorists over the years, most of whom have since been neutralised, the officials said. Forged documents with addresses from other states were recovered from Abdullah and Usman, indicating the use of false identities to facilitate movement outside the valley, they said. Probe findings also suggest that one foreign terrorist managed to travel outside the country on a valid passport made from forged documents. The elaborate network began to unravel on March 31 when the first of the three Srinagar residents, Naqeeb Bhat, was arrested from Pandach area along with a pistol and other incriminating material. During his questioning, he said that he was part of the LeT and procured the arms and ammunition from another associate, Adil Rashid of Zakoora. He also provided support to foreign terrorists, the officials said. From Bhat, police were led to Mir and Rashid Bhat, both active associates in Srinagar. The officials said the probe indicates that a foreign terrorist managed to travel outside the country on the basis of forged documents and identity with the help of the Lashkar-e-Taiba network in other states. During the investigation, following disclosures from those arrested, various hideouts were also busted in forested areas in and around Srinagar. In the earlier 'Al Falah operation' in November 2025, Srinagar police unravelled a network comprising highly educated professionals, mostly doctors, who had been radicalised to carry out terrorist activities. One of the accused was the Al Falah University's Dr Umer-un Nabi, who was driving the explosives-laden car that detonated outside the Red Fort on November 10, 2025, killing more than a dozen people. He had earlier made unsuccessful attempts to join terror groups in 2016 and 2018, the officials said. PTI SKL RT

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