NIA probes ISI link in recent slew of drone intrusions into Indian territory

|HT|

The recent slew of drone intrusions into Indian territory is being probed by the National Investigation Agency, which is looking into the role of terrorist groups operating from Pakistan occupied Kashmir under the directions of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Pakistani spy agency, people familiar with the development said.

There have been over two dozen sightings of Pakistani drones making sorties to drop weapons and explosives in Jammu and Kashmir this year to carry out terror strikes in the Kashmir valley, investigators said.

The federal agency last week raided eight locations in Srinagar, Jammu, Kathua, Samba and Doda in a case it recently took over to probe the delivery of arms, ammunition and explosives payload by a module of The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, near the international border in Samba on May 29, just ahead of the Amarnath Yatra.

At least seven sticky bombs, besides grenades, were loaded on an unmanned aerial vehicle, which was shot down by Kathua police.

“The TRF operatives were in constant touch with Pakistani handlers of LeT and were receiving consignments of arms and explosives and other terrorist hardware via drones in Indian territory near IB in the Samba Sector,” an officer of the federal agency said, requesting anonymity. “These weapon consignments were being further supplied to TRF terrorists in Kashmir for execution of terrorist attacks on minorities, migrants and security forces.”

Faisal Muneer of Jammu, who allegedly received the consignments dropped through drones and handed over to terrorists in the valley, has been arrested by Jammua and Kashmir police last month.

In another incident, a drone was shot down by the Border Security Force in Jammu on July 22.

Apart from Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani spy agency has been continuously sending arms, explosives and drugs across the Punjab border as well.

Between October last year and July 15, security forces seized at least six Pakistani drones carrying over 300kg of heroin, 1.58kg opium, 48 weapons, 553 bullets, 4.750kg military grade RDX explosive and ₹1 lakh in Indian currency notes in Punjab.

The TRF has been found involved in supply of weapons and explosives through drones in Jammu and Kashmir, while Khalistani terror outfits operating from Pakistan are largely using Punjab border to send arms and drugs, officials said.

On June 27 last year, the TRF carried out a twin-drone attack at Jammu Air Force Station, in which two unmanned aerial vehicles travelled from across the border and dropped two 3kg to 5kg crude bombs at the facility, damaging a portion of a building.

Meanwhile, while inaugurating the new Raipur office of NIA on Saturday, home minister Amit Shah said the central government has made efforts to make Kashmir “completely terrorism free” and after the removal of article 370, there is peace in Kashmir.

Security forces have put a halt to all terror activities by establishing their complete supremacy, the home minister said.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)