NIA carries out searches in Anantnag forests in Delhi blast case

Srinagar, Dec 9: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), assisted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), carried out a search operation on Tuesday in the dense Mattan forest area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

Police sources said that the operation was part of the ongoing probe into the November 10 car bomb blast near Delhi’s historic Red Fort, which killed at least 11 people and left about a dozen injured.

According to officials, the two arrested persons, suspects Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather and Jasir Bilal Wani, were taken to locations in the forested belt based on information they provided during interrogation. Both are currently in NIA custody.

“The accused were brought to the specific spot in the Mattan forest,” officials said. Though the agency has not revealed details, officials said the search party has recovered material from the spit.

The “white-collar terror module”, initially uncovered by the J&K Police, consists of highly educated individuals who were radicalised and recruited for terror activities. So far, 8 people from the module have been arrested in connection with the attack.

The NIA has stepped up its operations across Jammu and Kashmir and other suspected places since the November 10 blast. On December 1, the agency raided nearly a dozen locations across Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam districts, focusing on individuals suspected to have links with the sophisticated module.