JAMMU: J&K police have arrested eight suspected associates of terrorists for their alleged involvement in providing logistic support in recent attacks in the Kathua-Bani-Kishtwar belt, including the fatal ambush on an Army patrol in the remote Machedi forest on July 8 that killed five soldiers and wounded as many.
Police said Monday the arrests were made based on technical and human intelligence, leading to the exposure of a key terror module involved in aiding foreign terrorists’ infiltration and movement across the region.
The module, suspected to be led by a Kathua resident, was responsible for receiving and assisting Pakistani terrorists after they crossed into India. The arrested men allegedly provided shelter, food, and guided the terrorists through the mountainous regions of Udhampur, Kathua, and Doda. Some locals from the pastoral community living in temporary shelters called dhoks in the area were also questioned, with a few suspected to have aided the terrorists, while others reported their encounters to the authorities, a police spokesperson said.
Police said investigations revealed that the alleged kingpin of the module, in active collusion with terrorist handlers in Pakistan, played a crucial role in receiving foreign terrorists after their illegal and surreptitious entry into India through the Samba-Kathua sector. “The module besides providing initial shelter, food, and other minor logistics was also responsible for guiding them to the upper reaches of the mountains and jungles at the centre of a tri-junction of Udhampur-Kathua-Doda districts,” the spokesperson added.
Kathua police had earlier arrested two suspected “over ground workers” linked to the attack on the Army patrol.
According to authorities, many of these people from remote villages may be coerced or financially incentivised to assist the Pakistani terrorists — such as knowledge of the terrain and resources, enabling the intruders to evade security forces and carry out precise attacks in the challenging landscape.
Police said Monday the arrests were made based on technical and human intelligence, leading to the exposure of a key terror module involved in aiding foreign terrorists’ infiltration and movement across the region.
The module, suspected to be led by a Kathua resident, was responsible for receiving and assisting Pakistani terrorists after they crossed into India. The arrested men allegedly provided shelter, food, and guided the terrorists through the mountainous regions of Udhampur, Kathua, and Doda. Some locals from the pastoral community living in temporary shelters called dhoks in the area were also questioned, with a few suspected to have aided the terrorists, while others reported their encounters to the authorities, a police spokesperson said.
Police said investigations revealed that the alleged kingpin of the module, in active collusion with terrorist handlers in Pakistan, played a crucial role in receiving foreign terrorists after their illegal and surreptitious entry into India through the Samba-Kathua sector. “The module besides providing initial shelter, food, and other minor logistics was also responsible for guiding them to the upper reaches of the mountains and jungles at the centre of a tri-junction of Udhampur-Kathua-Doda districts,” the spokesperson added.
Kathua police had earlier arrested two suspected “over ground workers” linked to the attack on the Army patrol.
According to authorities, many of these people from remote villages may be coerced or financially incentivised to assist the Pakistani terrorists — such as knowledge of the terrain and resources, enabling the intruders to evade security forces and carry out precise attacks in the challenging landscape.