J&K police bust “terror funding and recruitment module” in north Kashmir

Police say the Pakistan-backed module, under the guise of an NGO, pasted anti-India posters during the Home Minister’s visit, apart from funding terror, laundering money, recruiting youth and collecting explosives

A militant module, allegedly responsible for pasting anti-India posters during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent Kashmir visit as well as recruiting youth, has been busted and six militants arrested in north Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) police said on Thursday.

“The module was being coordinated by Pakistan-based handlers to aid the operations of the Tehreek-e-ul Mujahideen Jammu and Kashmir in north Kashmir. The modus operandi of the group was to go to different villages and conduct events and gatherings under the garb of an NGO [or non-governmental organisation] and collect money by asking for charity and also scout for potential soft targets as recruits,” the police said.

The police described the module as “a deep-rooted terror funding and recruitment module” running in north Kashmir.

The crackdown on the module started with the arrest of Bilal Ahmed Dar, a resident of Kupwara’s Cheerkote, during a joint operation of the Army and the Kupwara police from Nutnussa and Lolab localities of Kupwara.

“After a thorough interrogation, Dar revealed that he, along with five other people from different parts of north Kashmir were running a terror funding racket under the garb of a fake NGO called Islahi Falahi Relief Trust, which claimed to provide monetary assistance to poor and needy families,” the police said.

The police said that Mr. Dar was actively involved in coordinating the funding for terror activities and aiding recruitment by organizing Ijtema (religious gatherings) in different villages where he along with other members of the NGO would try and lure young people into anti-national activities.

Mr. Dar identified his accomplices as Wahid Ahmed Bhatt from Kachloo, Langet in Kupwara, Javed Ahmed Najar from Baramulla’s Singhpora, Mushtaq Ahmed Najar from Sopore’s Brath and Bashir Ahmed Mir from Sopore’s Mundji area. The police said that Mr. Bhatt alias Tauheed was the mastermind behind the recruitment and terror funding module. Another arrested person is Mr. Dar’s cousin, Zubair Ahmed Dar, from Cheerkote, who was also actively involved in the module, according to the police.