Sticky bombs, grenades, IED recovered from terrorist hideout in Rajouri

A cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from a terrorist hideout in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on the disclosure of Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Talib Hussain Shah, who is allegedly a former BJP functionary.

A cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from a terrorist hideout in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday on the disclosure of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Talib Hussain Shah, who is an alleged former BJP functionary.  

The recoveries included six sticky bombs, a pistol, three pistol magazines ( two for Glock pistols and one for 30 bore pistols), one under-barrel grenade launcher (UBGL), three UBGL grenades, 75 AK rounds, 15 rounds of a Glock pistol, four rounds of 30 bore pistol, and an improvised explosive device (IED) with a remote. (Representative Image/HT File)

The recoveries included six sticky bombs, a pistol, three pistol magazines ( two for Glock pistols and one for 30 bore pistols), one under-barrel grenade launcher (UBGL), three UBGL grenades, 75 AK rounds, 15 rounds of a Glock pistol, four rounds of 30 bore pistol, and an improvised explosive device (IED) with a remote.

Additional director general of police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh said, “Arms and ammunition were recovered from a hideout at Draj village in Rajouri on Shah’s disclosure.”

Shah – who was reported to be the former IT and social media cell in charge of BJP’s minority morcha – and his associate Faisal Ahmad Dar were overpowered by locals and handed over to police in a remote village in Reasi district on Sunday.

He called the development “a new modus operandi of Pakistan-based terror outfits to target BJP leaders and the party headquarters in Jammu.”

“ He (Shah) visited the BJP headquarters in Jammu many times in the capacity of a reporter. He used to be accompanied by his cameraman and has interviewed me in the past. There is no official record of him being a member of the BJP. Moreover, he was handed over to the police by the locals. The matter is being probed, but it appears that he carried out a recce of the BJP office,” Raina said.

“Some photographs have been recovered from his phone, which are being looked into by police and intelligence agencies. It appears he was planning a major terror attack on the BJP office,” he said, adding that security agencies suspected that he, too, was on Shah’s hit list.

A senior police officer said, “Shah developed a close rapport with party leaders and then turned into a journalist. Such terrorists pose a serious threat to politicians,” he said, adding that a large number of news portals were mushrooming in terror infested regions.