LeT’s recruitment ring busted in Kashmir, 10 locations raided: CIK

Srinagar, Oct 22: The Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) Tuesday said that it busted a militant recruitment module run by a newly-floated militant outfit Tehreek Labaik Ya Muslim (TLM), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) on Tuesday.

A statement of CIK issued here said that it conducted searches at 10 locations in different districts of Kashmir in pursuance to search warrant issued by the Court of Special Judge designated under NIA Act, Srinagar in case FIR No 06/2023 under Sections 153-A, 505, 121 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) read with 13 and 39 of UA(P) Act.

It said that the case pertains to a larger conspiracy hatched by proscribed militant organisations operating within J&K and across the Line of Control (LoC) at the behest of Pakistani agencies, in connivance with their Over Ground Workers (OGWs), supporters, facilitators, and sympathisers in Kashmir.

The CIK said that they were continuously in the process of creating new modules (gangs) wherein by misusing various social media applications, the youth of Kashmir were lured by varied ways and means including radicalisation, instigation, and provocation.

It said that their intention was to make the youth indulge in unlawful and violent activities and also to join militant ranks to further the activities of these organisations.

CIK on the basis of information, inputs, and evidence developed by Police Station CIK, found that ‘Gazi Hamas’, a LeT handler was going to float a new organisation by the name of ‘Tehreek Labaik Ya Muslim’ (TLM), an offshoot of LeT.

It said that he was doing so in conspiracy with the OGWs, supporters, facilitators, and sympathisers of militant organisations operating in Kashmir and with the active support of Pakistani agencies with the intention to further violent activities in Kashmir.

The CIK said that it was further found that ‘Gazi Hamas’ was providing seditious material and directions to OGWs, supporters, facilitators, and sympathisers through various covert and encrypted social media applications for radicalisation and luring the youth to join militant ranks of the newly-floated militant organisation ‘Tehreek Labaik Ya Muslim’.

It said that the module was in continuous touch with the handlers of the militant organisations across the border.

The CIK said that amongst other modes of communication, it was learnt that encrypted internet messaging platforms, besides other software applications, were being used and for that searches were conducted at 10 locations in Kashmir wherein besides the arrest of suspects, incriminating material in the form of digital devices, SIM cards, mobile phones, laptops, and seditious material having bearing on the investigation of the case had been recovered and seized in the case.

It said that it was notable that this newly-floated militant organisation had claimed to have carried few incidents in the recent past which included but were not limited to a fire incident in Panchayat Ghar in the Seer area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district and another fire incident in a remote village of Doda (though not corroborated on the ground).

The CIK said that this outfit also remained involved in pasting posters at various locations in south and central Kashmir and on internet-based social media platforms as well.

It said that this was aimed at glorifying militancy and radicalising the youth to join this new militant outfit.

The CIK said that the investigation was aimed at dismantling the militant ecosystem in J&K by not only identifying OGWs supporting and abetting violence but also by ensuring legal action as envisaged by the law of the land.