2,900kg explosives seized in F'bad; 7 held in ‘white-collar’ terror link

Security agencies have unearthed what they described as a "white-collar terror network" spanning Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, with the arrest of seven people - including two doctors - and the recovery of nearly 2,900 kilogrammes of explosive and inflammable materials, assault rifles, pistols, and improvised explosive device (IED)-making components during raids in Faridabad.

- Leena Dhankhar & Mir Ehsan

Police officers during a cordon and search operation at Fatehpur Taga village in Faridabad, on Monday.

(SUBHASH SHARMA/HT)

Investigators said the group was linked to the proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH), with foreign handlers operating from Pakistan and other Gulf countries.

The three-day operation, jointly conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Haryana Police between November 8 and 10, uncovered what officials called one of the largest seizures of explosives in recent years.

"Investigation revealed a white-collar terror ecosystem, involving radicalised professionals and students in contact with foreign handlers, operating from Pakistan and other countries," a J&K Police spokesperson said.

"It's not RDX, as reported initially, but ammonium nitrate," said Faridabad police commissioner Satender Kumar Gupta, adding that forensic analysis was underway.

The crackdown, officials said, stemmed from an investigation launched in October when posters of JeM and AGuH threatening security forces and calling for anti-India activities surfaced in Srinagar's Nowgam area. The J&K Police registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Explosive Substances Act, and Arms Act, and began tracking a chain of radicalised individuals. Among the first to come under the scanner was Dr Muzammil Shakil, a 35-year-old medical student from Pulwama, who had been studying at Al-Falah Medical College in Dhauj, Faridabad, for over three years.