SRINAGAR: Pakistan-based terror groups are ‘honey trapping’ Indian youths and encouraging them to join militancy. Officials said that the youths are being used as human carriers to ferry arms and to act as guides for terrorists.
Syed Shazia, a woman in her 30s, was arrested from Bandipore a fortnight ago, under the Ranbir Penal Code (the equivalent of IPC) and Arms Act, by officials from the central security agencies. Investigators found that she had various accounts on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, and was being followed by many youths in the Valley.
Not only youths, Shazia was also in touch with a few officials in the police department. Officials said that it is a usual “double-cross” tactic and that she used to inform about the movement of troops to her handlers in Pakistan.
For months officials had been keeping an eye on the IP address used by Shazia. During interrogation, she said that there were more women like her who were luring youths to pick up arms.
Shazia has been on the radar of investigating agencies since September last year when police killed Abu Ismail, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist operating in Kashmir, and Chotta Qassim in an encounter.
The police had recovered some documents and materials from the encounter site which indicated that an unidentified woman from North Kashmir was involved in supplying arms and ammunition to the two.
The woman was identified as Shazia in April this year. Officials monitoring her social media accounts found that she was luring youths on orders from across the border.
Shazia later started working as an overground worker from Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and was delivering weapons in the Valley.
Before her arrest, a special police officer from Handwara was picked up by police for informing Shazia that her phone was being monitored.
The police officer, identified as Irfan, had been passing information to Shaiza, they said. The Jammu and Kashmir Police had also arrested a 28-year-old Aysia Jan on November 17 after receiving a tip-off about the movent of arms and ammunition. They recovered 20 grenades and some ammunition from her.
Missing Kashmir youth, who embraced militancy gives up gun, returns home
A Kashmiri youth, who went missing in October from a university in Uttar Pradesh and was believed to have joined militant group Islamic State J&K, returned home on Sunday. Ehtisham Bilal Sofi, 17, who had gone missing from Sharda University in Greater Noida on October 28 and reportedly joined the terror group after pledging his allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakar Al Baghdadi, returned home at Khanyar in downtown Srinagar on Sunday. On his return, a police contingent reached the spot and whisked him away. “There were some effort from his family and our side to make him come back and these bore,” DIG, central Kashmir, B K Virdi said.
He said the police officials are questioning him. Sources said police officials are quizzing Ehtisham on what prompted him to join militancy and how he got in touch with militants inspired by the IS in the state. He had released a video in which he was shown holding an AK-47 rifle. It also carried an audio message where he is heard pledging his allegiance to Baghdadi. The boy’s father said he had returned home bleeding and was taken away by police. Before going missing from university and joining militancy, Ehtisham was assaulted by a group of students in the varsity campus at Greater Noida during a clash between students of India and Afghanistan.