Youths with no past criminal record or separatist affiliation are now preferred for recruitment by terror handlers in Jammu and Kashmir to stay under the radar of security forces, officials in the know say.
The sophisticated 'white-collar' terror module, spearheaded by a group of doctors recently busted by Jammu and Kashmir Police, had been actively scouting for a suicide bomber since last year, with key planner Dr Umar Nabi pushing the agenda, officials said on Sunday.
Amir Rashid Ali, a key accused in the Red Fort area car bomb blast case, has been remanded in 10 days' NIA custody. The agency seeks to unravel the conspiracy behind the inter-state "white collar" terror module.
Police intensified the crackdown on the terror ecosystem in Kashmir, carrying out raids at more than 300 locations linked to persons affiliated with the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in the valley.
Officials reveal details of a foiled Jaish-e-Mohammed terror plot involving a doctor who planned a bomb blast near the Red Fort, timed around the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary. Arrests and investigations uncovered the interstate network.
Ten days after the devastating car explosion near the Red Fort, in which 13 people lost their lives and several others were injured, investigators say the incident is part of a broader terror conspiracy involving a professional network of radicalised individuals based in Faridabad, Saharanpur and Kashmir.
Indian authorities have uncovered a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror plot involving doctors from south Kashmir, a Faridabad university, the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives, and a car bomb near the Red Fort. Eight people have been arrested in connection with the plot.
Radical Islamist networks are deliberately targeting Muslim youths embedded within the country's professional and academic ecosystems, leveraging their skills, mobility, and digital reach to quietly strengthen operational capabilities. This trend highlights a dangerous evolution in terror recruitment -- one that exploits ideological faultlines, online echo chambers and transnational radical Islamist influences to attract individuals who outwardly embody India's modern and aspirational narrative, points out Dr Kanchan Lakshman.
Terror outfits in Jammu and Kashmir are now constructing elaborately-designed underground bunkers deep inside thick forests and elevated ridges instead of taking shelter in local houses, officials said. This tactical shift, fuelled by eroding local support, presents a new challenge to the Army and other security forces.
'The elimination of terrorists does not imply the neutralisation of terrorism. That terrorist ecosystem continues to thrive in Kashmir.'
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha claims a significant reduction in the fear of terrorism in the Kashmir Valley, citing increased industrial activity in Pulwama and a decline in local terror recruitment.
Heavy rains battered Jammu and Kashmir, triggering floods, damaging infrastructure, and disrupting normal life. Authorities issued advisories and rescue operations were conducted.
With this, the total number of houses of terrorists and their overground workers demolised since the Pahalgam attack has gone up to nine.
Security forces have intensified anti-terror operations after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, eliminating six hardcore terrorists in the past three days in Kashmir.
Police conduct raids at bookshops in Kashmir to seize banned books promoting false narratives and glorifying terrorism, following a government order. The ban and subsequent raids have drawn criticism from authors and political leaders.
Bookstore owners were cautioned against keeping or distributing the books. Police personnel briefed the bookstore owners about the legal consequences of violating the ban.
Written in Urdu, the posters sought the help of the people in tracing the terrorists, saying "those who killed the innocents do not have a place in our country".
The area has been cordoned off and a hunt launched to nab the attackers.
Sinha said the inauguration of the Kashmir rail service has connected the hearts of the people of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country and will pave the way for the economic prosperity of the region.
'A man with a gun commanded respect. I thought if I also got a gun, I could save my family. With this thought, I went to Pakistan and got training there'
Authorities in Kashmir have launched a massive crackdown on terrorists and their sympathisers in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, razing homes of the ultras, raiding their safe havens and detaining hundreds of overground workers for questioning, officials said on Saturday.
Mumbai cricketer Sarfaraz Khan has married a girl from Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Days after the Pahalgam terror attack, Jammu and Kashmir authorities have deported 59 Pakistani nationals, including the mother of Shaurya Chakra awardee Constable Mudasir Ahmad Sheikh. The Pakistani nationals were living in the valley for decades and were transported to Punjab for repatriation. However, the mother of the deceased soldier was later allowed to stay back. The deportation comes after the Indian government announced a slew of measures against Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and the downgrading of diplomatic relations.
Three Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, the police said.
Later, the Central Bureau of Investigation took over the probe and found that the two women were never raped or murdered.
Puran Krishan was attacked near his residence in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir district, they said, adding that doctors declared Krishan brought dead after he was shifted to Shopian hospital.
Images from Tuesday's security operations to eliminate terrorists in Shopian and Rajouri districts in Jammu and Kashmir.
'He is intrigued by the intractability of Kashmir issue. With his interest in dealmaking and peacebrokering, he sees it as an exciting challenge to tackle.'
Acting on a specific input about the presence of terrorists in the Amshipora area of Shopian in south Kashmir, the security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation, a police official said.
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation after receiving specific intelligence about the presence of terrorists in Zainpora area of Shopian, they said.
Three Jaish-e-Mohammed militants were killed in the Drach area of Shopian, while a Lashkar-e-Tayiba militant was killed in the Moolu area of the south Kashmir district, the police said.
While a verified Twitter handle of the Information and Public Relations department of Shopian claimed that the news about leaving of 'Kashmiri non-migrant Hindu population' was 'baseless', Ashwani Kumar Bhat, whose brother Puran Krishan Bhat was gunned down by terrorists on October 16, told reporters in Jammu that he has migrated and will never return to the Valley.
Bhat's wife and the two children were in a state of shock as relatives and neighbours, who rushed there, were seen consoling them.
Inspector general of police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said the slain ultras were members of proscribed terror outfit LeT.
The nomination papers of 35 candidates including that of jailed separatist Sarjan Barkati were on Wednesday rejected during scrutiny for the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving 244 contestants in the fray.
This is a third attack on non-local labourers in Kashmir in the past one week.
Jammu and Kashmir is facing a severe water crisis this year due to a massive rainfall deficit. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concern about the situation and called for a proactive approach towards water management and conservation. The state has witnessed an 80% deficit in rainfall this year, raising the possibility of drought in the valley this summer. Several water bodies are flowing below the zero level mark, and some springs in south Kashmir have dried up completely. The water level in Jhelum and other major streams is alarmingly low.
Kashmir's first INOX multiplex in Srinagar's Somwar area will be thrown open to the public next week.
Two persons from Uttar Pradesh were shot at by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district on Friday evening, officials said.
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