3 Kashmiri students arrested in Jalandhar for alleged militant links

Three Kashmiri students—all residents of southern Pulwama district—were arrested in a joint operation by the Punjab police and their J&K counterparts Wednesday for alleged links with the militant outfit Ansaar Gazwat-ul-Hind, officials said.  

The arrest of three students comes days after a student from Kashmir, who was studying in Punjab, was detained for being a close relative of special police officer Adil Bashir Sheikh, who fled with seven AK-47 rifles and a licensed pistol of PDP legislator from his official residence in Srinagar’s Jawahar Nagar locality. He is presently being questioned by the J&K police after he was handed over to them by the Punjab police recently.

   

A statement issued by the director general of Punjab police Suresh Arora read: “In a joint operation, the Punjab police and special operations group of Jammu and Kashmir police arrested three students and busted the module of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and Jaish-e-Muhammad in Jalandhar.”

“The students were arrested from the hostel of CT Institute of Engineering Management and Technology, located in Shahpur on the outskirts of Jalandhar,” the statement read, adding: “The joint team, which conducted a raid at the hostel early Wednesday morning, also recovered two weapons, including an assault rifle, as well as explosives, from the hostel room of B.Tech (civil) student of second semester, Zahid Gulzar son of Gulzar Ahmad a resident of Rajpora, Pulwama.”

“Two other students including Muhammad Idris Shah alias Nadeem, a resident of  Pulwama and Yusuf Rafiq Bhat, a resident of Noorpura, Pulwama, were detained,” the statement read.

The Punjab DGP said the arrests followed “development and corroboration of various leads/inputs about presence and activities of certain militant organisations/individuals operating in J&K and Punjab.”

A case vide FIR number 166 dated 10.10.18, u/s 121, 121-A, 120-B IPC and 25/54/59 Arms Act, 3/4/5 Explosive Act, 10/13/17/18/ 18-B/20/38/39/40 Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, has been registered in police station Sadar Jalandhar.

“Further investigations are in progress and the Punjab Police are working closely with J&K police to unravel the entire conspiracy and network built by these outfits/individuals in Punjab and J&K,” the Punjab DGP said.

“Busting of module belonging to AGH and the recovery of weapons in Jalandhar was indicative of efforts by Pakistan’s ISI to expand the arc of militancy on India’s western border,” he alleged in the statement.

Pertinently, few days earlier, Gazi Ahmad Malik, a resident of Shopian was picked up by Punjab police from Banur, Patiala where he was studying at the Aryans Group Polytechnic College. According to the police, Gazi was close relative of SPO Adil Bashir Sheikh.

“Gazi was later handed over to the J&K police for further investigations,” an official said.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Kashmir range inspector general of police Swayam Prakash Pani said that the J&K police are cooperating with the Punjab police to “find out the actual role of the arrested students.”

In a video message, director general of police (J&K) Dilbag Singh said that J&K police and Punjab police had launched a joint operation and three youth have been arrested.

“We have come to know that they belong to Zakir Moosa-led Ansaar Gazwatul Hind. We are collecting evidences against the group. Another name cropped up who is with us and is being questioned,” he said.

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