In a significant development, Jammu and Kashmir Police informed on Sunday about the arrest of three militant associates associated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit in North Kashmir's Baramulla district. The arrests were made during a joint operation on Saturday involving the police, 13 SIKHLI, 185 BN BSF, and Baramulla Police at Kalgai near Jhula Foot Bridge. The suspects, identified as Zameer Ahmad Khanday and Mohammad Naseem Khanday, residents of Madiyan Kamalkote, were intercepted during joint checking and patrolling. The subsequent search revealed three Chinese grenades and Rs 2.5 lakhs in cash in their possession.


An FIR under relevant sections of the law was registered at Uri Police Station based on the recovery.


During the interrogation, the accused revealed that the grenades and cash were provided to them by Manzoor Ahmad Bhatti, a resident of Madiyan Kamalkote, for the purpose of executing a terrorist act. Manzoor Ahmad Bhatti was subsequently taken in for questioning, during which he confessed to supplying the illegal items and disclosed the location of one hand grenade and cash near his house.


As a result, the police recovered 1 Chinese hand grenade and Rs 2.17 lakhs in cash from the disclosed location. Manzoor Ahmad Bhatti was arrested in connection with the case. The police stated that further investigations are ongoing.


"During sustained questioning both the accused disclosed that these illegally acquired grenades and cash had been provided to them by one Manzoor Ahmad Bhatti... so that they could execute any terrorist act," a police spokesperson revealed.


In another development, a massive search operation has been launched in the forest area near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, reported news agency PTI citing officials. The operation, jointly being conducted by the Army, police, and CRPF, is being conducted in several forest areas of the Mehdhar and Krishna Ghati sector after information was received about some suspicious movement, the officials added, as per PTI.


More On It: Indian Army, CRPF And Jammu And Kashmir Police Conduct Joint Search Op In Poonch