Cops Raid 6 Locations In Kashmir In Online Terror Recruitment Case

In a major crackdown on terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba's online recruitment network, the Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) on Friday raided six locations across Jammu and Kashmir, targeting a module that was allegedly radicalising and recruiting Kashmiri youth through social media.

The searches were carried out in Budgam, Srinagar, Bijbehara, Mattan in Anantnag, and a village in Pulwama, in coordination with local police, revenue officials and in the presence of executive magistrates.

The raid was conducted in connection with a three-year-old case linked to an alleged terror recruitment module operating through social media platforms to lure youth into proscribed terrorist organisations.

Investigators said the module was run by Pakistan-based handlers allegedly working in connivance with Lashkar-e-Taiba and other banned terror outfits.

They were using social media platforms to indoctrinate youth and instigate them against the sovereignty and integrity of the country.

Among the houses searched was that of 22-year-old Mohammad Yaseen Mir, a graduate and resident of Hokersar, Sheikh-ul-Alam Colony, Zainakote, near Police Station Shalteng in Srinagar.

Mir's mother, Tabasum Shaheen, a Pakistani national, left for Pakistan on April 29 last year and has not returned since then. It is not clear whether she was denied a visa or chose not to return of her own. Investigators said she remains in contact with her son, a link the CIK is now closely probing.

Another raid was conducted at the residence of Peerzada Anayat Ullah Shah, a resident of Agrikalan, Magam in Budgam.

Sources said incriminating material, including digital devices and documents, was seized during the searches. The material is being examined for further leads on the cross-border handlers and local contacts.