Police on Thursday carried out dozens of raids across Kashmir on properties linked to the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, including an educational institute in Handwara, as part of a crackdown to curb militant activities.
A police spokesperson claimed that they had brought “all individuals with any past or present affiliation to the banned group” under “the ambit of the searches”.
The raids came as the police in Jammu said they had arrested a “radicalised” teenager who was planning a “terror attack”.
Banned Jamaat — a religious-cum-political organisation, some of whose leaders were allowed by the LG Manoj Sinha administration to contest last year’s Assembly polls — has emerged as the biggest target of the crackdown launched in the wake of the busting of a “white collar terror module” involving some Kashmiri doctors recently.
A major operation also
targeted the Jamaat leaders and activists on November 12, a day after the suspected suicide bombing involving a Kashmiri doctor.
District police officials in Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Awantipora, Budgam and Handwara issued separate statements about the raids.
Shopian police said they carried out a “major and meticulously coordinated operation” in which “extensive searches” were carried out targeting individuals and premises linked with the Jamaat-e-Islami, proscribed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
“The large-scale operation forms part of the continuing preventive measures aimed at identifying and neutralising networks attempting to covertly revive the activities of proscribed organisations. All individuals with any past or present affiliation to the banned group were brought under the ambit of the searches,” Shopian police said.
Jamaat has a huge presence across Jammu and Kashmir, with thousands of families believed to be linked with it. Pockets of Shopian are seen as the party’s strongholds.
In last year’s Lok Sabha elections, the administration surprisingly allowed its leaders to contest polls — seen as a move to divide the Muslim vote to the advantage of the BJP. None of the candidates emerged as a winner.
Pulwama police said the raids were carried out in the backdrop of a recent spurt in “terrorist activities and to curb the tendency of radicalisation among the youth”.
Officials released pictures of the raids, showing police men searching the premises amid the presence of a strong security force contingent.
“Electronic devices, documents and literature were seized from the houses of individuals linked to the outfit and associated institutions. All recovered material has been seized for detailed scrutiny, according to officials,” the spokesperson said.
In north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, searches were also carried out at the Jamia Islamia Institute in Waripora, Handwara, based on information indicating suspected unlawful activities and possible links with Jamaat, officials said.
In Jammu, the police said they arrested a 19-year-old youth in connection with an FIR registered under Section 113(3) (terrorist activity) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) at Bahu Fort police station.
The teenager is a resident of Reasi district in Jammu, but was presently living in Jammu district.
An official said preliminary investigations revealed that the accused had been radicalised online and was allegedly planning to execute a militant attack.