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J&K police raid sites linked to banned Jamaat-e-Islami amid crackdown on 'terror support ecosystem'

Police on Thursday launched coordinated raids and inspections across the Kashmir Valley, targeting locations linked to the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and conducting city-wide checks at madrassas and mosques as part of an ongoing crackdown aimed at dismantling what authorities described as the terror support ecosystem. Officials said searches were carried out in Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Budgam and Kupwara. The raids targeted residential premises and business establishments linked to JeI members and their associates following credible intelligence suggesting anti-national activities. Electronic devices, documents and literature were seized for detailed scrutiny, they said. In Srinagar, police conducted extensive searches at the residences and establishments of Umar Sultan Guru from Chanpora, Mohammad Abdullah Wani from Budgam, currently residing at Mandir Bagh Baghat, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat from Bemina, Mohammad Ramzan Naik alias Faheem from Lal Bazar, Bashir Ahmad Lone from Harwan, and Manzoor Ahmad of Nowgam Chowk. Searches were also conducted at locations associated with JeI-affiliated institutions, including the residences of Mohammad Ramzan Lone of Soura (Ramzana Memorial Educational Institute), Shahid Zahgeer of Buchpora Soura (Ramzana Memorial School), and Peer Giyas Ud Din of Nowgam (Falah Research Ramzan Centre), officials said. Police also raided several institutions linked to JeI ideology, including Jamiat-ul-Banaat at Kashmir University in Lal Bazar, Rahat Manzil (JK Yateem Khana) in Bagh-i-Nand Singh, Chattabal, Chinar Publication Trust in Maisuma and Al-Kousar Book Shop in Maisuma. In Kupwara, searches were conducted at the Jamia Islamia Institute in Waripora, Handwara, based on information indicating suspected unlawful activities. The crackdown intensified following the 10 November blast near Delhis Red Fort metro station, which left 13 people dead. The doctor believed to have been driving the car that exploded was identified as Umar Nabi, a resident of Kashmir. J&K police raid hospitals, prisons, and chemical stores in crackdown on Delhi blast-linked terror networks Two days later, the Union government described the incident as a terrorist incident. Hours before the blast, police had cracked an inter-state and transnational terror module in Faridabad and Uttar Pradeshs Saharanpur. Subsequent investigations, police said, led to the recovery of nearly 3,000 kg of explosives-making material from various locations, including Faridabad. On 12 November, the Jammu and Kashmir Police conducted raids at more than 300 locations linked to persons affiliated with the banned Jamaat-e-Islami after intelligence inputs indicated attempts to revive the proscribed organisation under different names. As investigations continued, the explosives recovered earlier blew up during sampling at the Nowgam police station on the outskirts of Srinagar on 14 November, killing nine people and injuring 32. Against this backdrop, Srinagar Police on Thursday carried out fresh inspections at madrassas and masjids across all zones. A police spokesman said the checks were part of the larger effort to counter radicalisation and strengthen de-radicalisation measures. The inspection is part of an ongoing crackdown against individuals and networks associated with terrorist organisations to dismantle the terror support ecosystem in the region and strengthen de-radicalisation efforts, he said. Search teams, accompanied by executive magistrates and independent witnesses, inspected digital devices, documents and other materials to gather evidence related to terror-linked or radical activities inimical to the security and integrity of the nation. Police said the operations were conducted strictly in accordance with legal procedures ensuring transparency and accountability at every stage. These searches will continue wherever credible inputs indicate the presence of individuals or materials linked to terror or radicalised activities prejudicial to the security of the nation, the spokesman said. Police urged citizens to cooperate with ongoing investigations and report suspicious activity. Two religious preachers, Molvi Irfan from Shopian and Molvi Ishtiaq from Mewat in Haryana, have already been arrested in connection with the terror module case. (Inputs from PTI)