J&K Police Bust New Militant Outfit TLM in Raids

Srinagar: The Counter-Intelligence Wing (CIK) of the Jammu and Kashmir police on Tuesday carried out multiple raids in seven districts of the Kashmir Valley to dismantle a newly formed militant outfit believed to be an offshoot of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Officials said that during the searches at ten places, mainly the residential houses of the outfit’s suspected members, 14 mobile phones, one laptop and other incriminating materials were seized and seven persons detained for questioning. Formal arrests will be made after the scrutiny of seized material and other investigations, they added.

During weeks of undercover investigation, the CIK officials found that a new militant outfit in the name ‘Tehreek Labaik Ya Muslim (Oh Muslim, here I’m at Your Service Movement) has been former and is probably an offshoot of LeT and being operated by a Pakistani terrorist handler known by his alias ‘Baba Hamas’. Its sleuths early Tuesday raided places in the Valley’s Srinagar, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Kulgam, Budgam, Anantnag, and Pulwama districts to dismantle a recruitment module of a newly formed terrorist organisation.

“During these raids a recruitment network of the newly formed terrorist organization TLM, believed to be an offshoot of the LeT was dismantled. The CIK’s swift action aims to neutralize any further growth of the group and disrupt their operations in the region,” an official said. He said that the TLM was suspected of attempting to expand its base in J&K through the recruitment of local youth.

He added that the successful operation marks a significant step towards curbing terrorism in the Valley. “We are investigating the outfit’s connections, funding sources and the larger objectives in J&K and beyond and the data in the mobile phones and other electronic devices in the use of its suspected members are likely to be helpful,” said the official.