NIA chargesheets foreign terrorist, 3 others

Srinagar, Aug 08: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has charge-sheeted four persons, including a foreign terrorist, for the killing of two non-local civilians by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its offshoot The Resistance Front (TRF), in Kashmir in February this year.

The NIA said that the accused, Adil Manzoor Langoo, Ahran Rasool Dar alias Tota, Dawood, and their Pakistan-based handler Jehangir alias Peer Sahab, had been chargesheeted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and UA (P) Act.

The NIA Special Court, Jammu, has already issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against absconding accused Jehangir.

The probe agency said that all four accused were involved in the brutal killing of two civilians on the evening of February 7, 2024, at Karfali Mohalla, Shala Kadal, Srinagar.

The NIA took over the case from J&K Police in June this year and re-registered it as RC-01/2024/NIA/JMU.

The probe agency officials said that the NIA investigations revealed that Langoo, who had joined LeT in 2023, had been motivated by Pakistani handlers to boost the terror outfit’s activities in Srinagar.

It said that he had also been involved in previous terror attacks in Kashmir.

The NIA said that he, along with his close associates Dar and Dawood, was working under the directions of Jehangir, who had motivated them to start violence in Srinagar and spread fear and terror among the non-locals with an intention to wage war against the Government of India.

It said that the trio had conspired with their handler Jehangir to kill the innocents at Shala Kadal, Srinagar.

The probe agency said that on the directions of Jehangir, Langoo and Dar had received arms and ammunition which were used by Langoo to commit the crime.

It said that Dawood had helped Langoo destroy the evidence of the crime.

The NIA said that it had been cracking down on terrorist organisations active in Kashmir.

“LeT, the largest terrorist group in the region, has been working through various offshoots to carry out its operations after it was banned by the Government of India. The LeT and TRF have been luring unemployed youth into terrorist activities by using social media extensively to propagate its dangerous agenda and promote its activities,” it said.

The probe agency said that further investigations were continuing in the case.