Security Forces in Jammu and Kashmir Disrupt Terrorist Cell, Arrest 2 in Bandipora District

Police said on Saturday that security forces had arrested two persons, including the widow of a terrorist who had been killed, in the Bandipora area of Jammu and Kashmir.

A roadblock was set up in the Dardgund region of the north Kashmir district on Friday based on specific information regarding the movement of a hybrid terrorist, a police spokesperson said.

He said that when a person saw security agents at the checkpoint, they attempted to leave and were later apprehended.

The spokesperson named the suspect as Shafayat Zubair Rishi, a resident of Nesbal Sumbal, and said that a handgun, a pistol magazine, eight rounds, and other incriminating evidence were found on him.

When questioned, the suspect admitted that he had left to pick up a stockpile of weapons and ammunition from Munira Begum, the murdered terrorist leader Yousuf Choupan’s wife.

He said that Begum was also detained.

The suspect maintained contact with Mushtaq Ahmad Mir, a Pakistan-based terrorist handler who “exfiltrated” to the neighboring nation in 1999 and worked to resurrect jihadists in the area.

Rishi was engaged in a bomb in Kothibagh in 2000 that killed 14 people, including 12 police officers, and he continued to be linked to the terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen and subsequently, Al-Badr.

Rishi, who is free on bail in the case, also took part in the 2009 burning of an Army vehicle in Sumbal.

Security authorities seized a stockpile of weapons and ammunition, including an AK-47 rifle, three magazines, 90 rounds, and a pen pistol from a nearby wooded area after learning about Begum, the spokesperson said. The weapons and ammo were destined for Rishi.

The official said, “During questioning, it became clear that Begum had visited Pakistan twice.”

Rishi said that he was ready to collect Rs 47 lakh for the district’s resurgence of terrorism.

The security forces have effectively thwarted the evil plans of Pakistan-based terror handlers to revive terrorism in the area by dismantling this module.

A case has been filed, and further investigation is being conducted.