STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar: Security has been beefed up across Kashmir in the wake of a fresh spate of terrorist attacks in the valley which resulted in the killing of a police personnel and a non-local labourer, officials said.
Security forces have intensified checking and frisking of vehicles and pedestrians in several parts of the city here as well as in other parts of the valley, the officials said.
Nakas and mobile vehicle checkpoints (MVCP) have been established at all major intersections of the city, its entry/exit points, and important roads leading to district headquarters, they added.
Jammu and Kashmir Police and paramilitary CRPF personnel have been deployed at sensitive places, especially around minority population areas, the officials said. They said the security forces are also keeping a watch, including night domination, in the areas where non-locals reside.
While most of the non-local labourers have left the valley because of the cold weather, few are still putting up in ghettos, they added.
4 LeT terror associates arrested
BARAMULLA: Security forces arrested four terrorist associates linked with the Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit and recovered arms and ammunition from their possession in Baramulla, police said on Wednesday.
At a checkpoint established at Naradhiri Dangerpora junction on Monday, security forces intercepted two suspicious persons who on seeing the joint party of the forces tried to flee, but were tactfully apprehended, a police spokesperson said.
The terror associates were identified as Ghulam Hassan Mir and Mukhtar Ahmad Khan, both residents of Baramulla’s Chandoosa, he said.
During the search, a Chinese pistol, a pistol magazine, 12 live rounds, 2 hand grenades and other incriminating material were recovered from their possession, the spokesperson said. A case was registered and an investigation was initiated. Upon the duo’s disclosure, two more persons — Altaf Ahmad Rather, a resident of Kawhar, and Farooq Ahmad Naqeeb, from Kunzar, were called for questioning, he said.
The two accused confessed to possession of hand grenades, which were recovered from them and subsequently the duo was arrested, the spokesperson said.
During further investigation, it came to the surface that all four accused persons are linked with Let/ TRF and were working for terrorist associate Mudasir Ahmad Sheikh, from Kunzer, in the past. Sheikh is presently lodged under the Public Safety Act, he said. Further investigation is underway, the spokesperson added.
The valley has seen a fresh spate of terrorist attacks. Terrorists shot dead a policeman, a father of seven, outside his house in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.
On Sunday, a police officer was critically injured in firing by terrorists in Srinagar while a labourer from Uttar Pradesh was shot dead in Pulwama district on Monday.
A senior police official said the focus of the security apparatus is to prevent the loss of life of even a single person.
Referring to the modus operandi of the attacks, the police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attacks are mafia-style where a new recruit is given a task to prove loyalty by hitting a soft target before joining the terror ranks.
In the wake of the attacks, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha will chair the meeting of Unified Headquarters (UHQ) on Wednesday.
The high-level meeting, which will be held at the Raj Bhawan here, will discuss the prevailing security scenario of J-K, the officials said.
The meeting will be the first for the newly appointed Jammu and Kashmir Police chief R R Swain. Apart from Swain, the Army’s top brass, including General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GoC-in-C) Northern Command, both General Officers Commanding (GOCs) of Army in Kashmir and Jammu (15th and 16th Corps), Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, Home Secretary R K Goyal, all heads of CAPFs, intelligence agencies, would attend the meeting.
