2 terrorists behind grenade attacks in Poonch: J&K ADGP

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police on Saturday claimed to have solved several grenade attack cases in Poonch with the arrest of two terrorists of the Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF) in the district.

The arrested terrorists were identified as Abdul Aziz and Munawar Hussain of Hari village.

Additional director general of police Anand Jain said, “On Friday, two terrorists along with some arms and ammunition were arrested in Poonch. During sustained interrogation, they turned out to be part of a larger conspiracy.”

“For the past year, there have been grenade attacks on a temple, an army location, a gurdwara and a hospital in Poonch in an attempt to vitiate communal harmony,” said Jain.

He informed that there was a sinister design to disturb peace in the society and pointed out that anti-national posters pasted at different locations in the past year were part of the conspiracy to create fear among the people.

“With the arrest of two terrorists, all cases of grenade attacks in Poonch in the past year have been worked out. However, the angle of funding is being probed and we are getting inputs from their contacts across the LoC. Their arrest is a big success for security forces,” said the ADGP.

He informed that the arrested terrorists were locals and they worked for Jammu Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF), a proscribed terror outfit.

On police action against overground workers (OGWs), he said that the campaign against the OGW network was in full throttle.

“Their properties are being seized in Rajouri and Poonch districts and the drive would continue to smash the entire eco-system of the terror network,” he asserted.

In a joint operation on Friday, police, along with troops of 37 Rashtriya Rifles and 38th Battalion of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), nabbed Aziz and recovered two hand grenades from his possession.

During the investigation, one more grenade was recovered from his house and his accomplice, Hussain, was also arrested along with a pistol, one magazine and nine rounds, said Jain.

The questioning of the terrorists so far has revealed that they received four consignments of arms, ammunition and ₹1.5 lakh from their handlers across the border, police said.

Aziz was involved in lobbing grenades at the Shiv temple in Surankote on November 15 last year; Gurdwara Mahant Sahib in Poonch on March 26; Army sentry post in Kamsar, Poonch in June; and a school ground near CRPF sentry post on August 14.

Hussain had lobbed a grenade near district hospital quarters on July 18.

The duo had also pasted anti-national posters at different locations in Surankote, including government high schools in Hari, Dhundak, Sanai, Eidgah-Hari and other adjoining areas. These posters were printed at Hussain’s house and pasted in August last year on the directions of their handler to create fear among the public, police said.

On September 12, another member of this module, Mohammad Shabir, a resident of Daryala, was arrested with a large quantity of explosives. Aziz had supplied the explosives to Shabir.