Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir made two major recoveries , arresting five alleged terrorist associates in Kulgam and uncovering an old arms hideout in Handwara hours earlier. Police said the Kulgam operation yielded pistols, grenades and ammunition, while the north Kashmir raid produced an AK-47 rifle and more than 1,100 rounds.
Five alleged terrorist associates arrested in Kulgam
The Kulgam operation was carried out at Khrewan Chadder on October 7 by Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Army’s 9 Rashtriya Rifles and the CRPF’s 18 Battalion after what police described as credible intelligence inputs.
Police said five alleged terrorist associates were arrested during the operation and weapons were recovered from their possession. The items seized during the operation included two pistols, three magazines, 40 rounds of 9mm ammunition and three grenades.
The five have been identified by police as Tajamul Hussain Mir of Gufbal, Rehmat Ali Naikoo of Khrewan, Tehrim Ahmed Bhat of Khrewan, Manzoor Ahmed Bhat of Khrewan Chadder and Kifiyat Ahmed Dar of Maltalhama in Kulgam district.
A case has been registered at Police Station Kulgam under relevant provisions of law. Investigators are now examining the alleged links of the arrested men, the source of the recovered weapons and whether they were connected to any active terrorist group or operational network, police said.
Hours earlier, AK-47 and 1,132 rounds found in Handwara
The arrests came on the same day that security forces reported another operation in north Kashmir, where an old hideout was found in the Nagda Nar forest area of Handwara in Kupwara district.
Acting on specific information, a joint team of Handwara Police, the Army and the CRPF searched the forest area and found the hideout. Police said the structure was destroyed after the weapons and other material inside it were recovered.
The Handwara cache was considerably larger. It included one AK-47 rifle, eight AK magazines, three grenades, a silencer, 857 AK rounds, 192 PIKA machine-gun rounds and 83 pistol rounds. Taken together, the ammunition recovered from the hideout amounted to 1,132 rounds.
Police also reported recovering other material from the site. A case has been registered at Handwara Police Station and investigators are trying to establish who used the hideout, how long the weapons had been stored there and whether the cache was linked to any existing terrorist network.
Two operations at opposite ends of Kashmir on the same day
The two cases are not currently described by police as connected. They are being investigated separately, with the Kulgam case centred on five people allegedly found with weapons and the Handwara case involving an old forest hideout containing an assault rifle and a large stock of ammunition.
Kulgam lies in south Kashmir, while Handwara is in Kupwara district in the north. Both operations involved joint teams of Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Army and the CRPF.
In Kulgam, investigators will focus on the alleged role of the five arrested men and any contacts they may have had. In Handwara, the age and ownership of the hideout will be part of the investigation. Police have not yet identified any organisation in connection with either recovery.
Kulgam and Handwara investigations continue
Officials have said further investigation is under way in both cases.
