Inspector General of Police (IGP), Jammu Zone, Mukesh Singh Sunday said that police averted a militant activity by recovering an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) from a Nursing student at BC Road who was allegedly working with Al-Badar militant outfit.
The IGP said that so far three persons having links with Al-Badar militant outfit have been arrested. “In view of specific intelligence inputs, we were on high alert for the last three to four days. We had inputs about a possible attempt to carry out an explosion in Jammu on the second anniversary of Pulwama attack, by the militants,” the IGP Jammu said.
He said that they had alerted all the nakas. During checking, he said, police apprehended a person who was suspiciously roaming along with a bag. He identified the arrested as Suhail Bashir Shah son of Bashir Ahmed Shah of Newa, Pulwama. “Police recovered over 6.5 kg IED, which was not active, from his bag.”
The officer said that Suhail was doing a nursing course in Chandigarh “where he received direction from Al-Badar handler of Pakistan to place an IED for explosion at one of the four places in Jammu city viz. the Railway Station, the Jammu Bus Stand, Lakhdata Bazaar or the Raghunath Temple.”
“It could have been a big explosion leading to large scale loss of lives. But the police by arresting him averted a major militant act in Jammu,” the IGP said.
He said: “After placing the IED, the arrested Al-Badar member had to fly to Srinagar where he was to be received by Al-Badar’s high ranking Over Ground Worker (OGW) namely Ather Shakeel Khan alias Ubaid Ullah, also a resident of Newa in Pulwama. Later, Suhail had to get activated,” he added.
On Suhail’s disclosure, the IGP said that his associate in Chandigarh – who also knew about the IED – Qazi Wasim alias Qazi has also been picked up. “Besides, their associate namely Abid Nabi alias Sehran from Budgam has also been arrested in the case from Srinagar,” he said.
Meanwhile, a patrolling party of Samba police in Ramgarh has recovered 6 pistols and its ammunition and 15 small IEDs from Jhang village late at night.
The IGP said: “We are investigating all possible links.”