Jammu: In a major success, Jammu Police today claimed to have foiled a major weapon smuggling bid with the arrest of three members of a terror module.
Police have recovered three AK-56 rifles, one pistol, nine magazines, 191 rounds of ammunition and six grenades before they could have delivered arms and ammunition to a terrorist in Kashmir.
The arrested persons have been identified as Mohammed Yaseen (driver), son of Mohammed Ismael, resident of Puchil Pampora, Farhan Farooq, son of Farooq Ahmed, resident of Drangbal Pampore and Farooq Ahmed, son of Abdul Aziz Bhat, resident of Drangbal in Pampore.
The success was achieved following alertness and coordination between Jammu and Kashmir region’s police stations to track down the terror network working on to deliver arms and to re-fuel terror activities.
The module was busted by cops who were deployed to keep the highway clear for movement of traffic but the unusual behavior of the oil tanker driver and his associate’s scuffle with the cops led to their arrest and ultimately unearthing of the module. The network was seeking to get active in Jammu to collect weapons and deliver them to a terrorist in Kashmir.
“During the intervening night of November 8/9, 2022, a police team from Trikuta Nagar was clearing traffic from the highway during which an oil tanker bearing registration number JK02-BF-2965 was asked to move ahead in the Narwal area. However, the same tanker left the place and was found parked near Environment Park on Bypass Road linking Jammu-Srinagar when it was noticed by a patrolling party of the concerned police station,” said SSP Jammu, Chandan Kohli.
He said that the police asked the tanker to move forward but it returned back to its initial point i.e., Narwal.
“While decongesting the area (Narwal), it was noticed that it was the same tanker which was asked to move forward. When the driver was questioned, he failed to give satisfactory answers to the police and two of his associates in the tanker had a scuffle with the police,” he said, quoting the preliminary investigation.
The trio was taken to the police station concerned, following the scuffle with the police and they were booked under FIR Number 284 under section 353 at Police Station Bahu Fort.
“After the legal formalities, a signal was sent to the concerned police stations of the accused regarding their involvements in any other case so as to know about their past history,” he added while saying that it came to their notice that the driver namely Mohammed Yaseen was involved in a ULAP case in Awantipora.
He said that “The driver is also a close associate of JeM as per the report of the concerned police station following which the investigating team became suspicious about them and started their questioning about the reason behind the unusual behavior last night and to know about the association with the terrorists, if any.”
It was after the sustained interrogation, the SSP Jammu said that “The driver disclosed that they had come to Jammu to pick-up weapons on behest of Shahbaaz, a handler of JeM who is in Pakistan. They were asked to hand over these weapons to a terrorist in Kashmir.”
The SSP quoting preliminary investigation said the driver has confessed that he concealed a consignment of arms and ammunition in the oil tanker.
On his disclosure, he said, the police checked the tanker again in presence of a magistrate and recovered 3 AK-56 rifles, one pistol, nine magazines, 191 rounds of ammunition and six grenades. Further investigation into the matter is in progress and more arrests are likely.
Earlier too police had claimed that the terror groups have tried to fuel the terrorism in Jammu region besides supplying arms to the terrorists in Kashmir from Jammu after they were dropped from drones on the International Border.