NIA recover devices with incriminating data during raids at 5 locations in Kashmir

• The NIA conducted searches at 5 locations in south Kashmir as part of an investigation into a 2022 militant conspiracy case targeting premises associated with hybrid militants and newly formed outfits linked to banned organizations

• Incriminating data was seized, revealing plans for violent militant attacks using sticky bombs, IEDs, and small arms

• The investigation focuses on the involvement of cadres and overground workers in terrorism-related activities, including weapon collection, distribution, and the use of social media for promoting terrorism

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out searches at five locations in south Kashmir as part of the ongoing investigation into the 2022 militant conspiracy case.

The raids targeted the premises of hybrid militants, overground workers (OGWs), locations associated with newly formed outfits such as The Resistance Front (TRF), United Liberation Front Jammu & Kashmir (ULFJ&K), Mujahideen Gazwat-ul-Hind (MGH), Jammu & Kashmir Freedom Fighters (JKFF), Kashmir Tigers, PAAF, and others.

These outfits are believed to have affiliations with banned organizations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al-Badr, and Al-Qaeda. The NIA noted that some of these newly formed outfits, including TRF, have been issuing threats of carrying out attacks in Jammu and Kashmir through social media channels.

During the searches, the NIA seized several digital devices containing significant amounts of incriminating data. The agency highlighted the role of OGWs, also known as hybrid terrorists, in providing support to militants and terrorists based in Pakistan. It emphasized the continuous efforts to dismantle the terror ecosystem in the region.

The NIA initiated the investigation on June 21, 2022, to examine the involvement of cadres and OGWs from various outfits in activities related to terrorism, violence, and subversion in Jammu and Kashmir. These individuals have been implicated in the collection and distribution of weapons, explosives, funds, and narcotic substances. The agency uncovered the use of social media platforms by operatives based in Pakistan to promote terrorism. Drones were also employed for the transportation of arms, ammunition, explosives, and narcotics to their counterparts in the Kashmir valley.

The alleged conspiracy involves planning by banned outfits to carry out violent militant attacks in Jammu and Kashmir using sticky bombs, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and small arms. The NIA previously conducted raids in the districts of Anantnag, Shopian, and Pulwama in connection with the case.

According to the NIA, the Pakistan-backed outfits are also engaged in radicalizing local youth and mobilizing overground workers to disrupt peace and communal harmony in Jammu and Kashmir.