Hizbul operative Mattu sent to judicial custody

Mattu is named in “11 known terror attack cases”, including five grenade attacks and killing of at least five police personnel in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, police said and claimed he is also associated with another terrorist outfit Al Badr

A Delhi court on Wednesday sent a suspected Hizbul Mujahideen operative, allegedly involved in 11 terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, to 14-day judicial custody.

Duty magistrate Isha Singh sent Javaid Ahmad Mattu, 32, to jail till January 31 on an application moved by the Delhi police, after he was produced before the court (HT File)

Duty magistrate Isha Singh sent Javaid Ahmad Mattu, 32, to jail till January 31 on an application moved by the Delhi police, after he was produced before the court.

The accused, carrying a reward of ₹10 lakh, was arrested from Delhi’s Nizamuddin area. He was driving a stolen car when he was apprehend, police said.

Mattu is named in “11 known terror attack cases”, including five grenade attacks and killing of at least five police personnel in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, police said and claimed he is also associated with another terrorist outfit Al Badr.

Dozens of police personnel have also been injured in attacks led by Mattu, police said.

Mattu, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir’s Sopore district, was involved in five grenade attacks in the Union Territory. He was also responsible for the killing of five police personnel in different incidents. According to the police, Mattu is one of the last surviving A++ designated terrorists from Jammu and Kashmir.

In August last year, a video of Mattu’s brother Rayees hoisting the national flag at his residence in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sopore went viral on social media. “I waved the Tiranga from my heart. There was no pressure from anyone...Saare jahaan se achha Hindustan humara, hum bulbule hain iske ye gulistan hamara,” he told the media.

According to the special cell, Mattu was part of the group of seven Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists who carried out at least 11 known terror attacks in Kashmir. Of the seven, four were killed during encounters with security forces in the valley. Apart from Mattu, the other two – Abdul Majid Jarger aka Shaheen, and Imtiyaz Kundu – fled to Pakistan, officers said.

At least two special cell officers privy to the matter said that Mattu was “re-launched” in India by Shaheen.

“Shaheen is presently operating from Pakistan… He is the one who managed finances and logistics for the outfit’s operatives in Kashmir… Among the seven, it was Mattu whose target attack was the most accurate. It could be the reason for his relaunch in the valley. We suspect that Mattu received training in handling firearms, rocket launchers, and preparing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Pakistan’s terror training camps,” one of the special cell officers said, on condition of anonymity.

“Mattu is a hardcore and trained terrorist who knows how to mislead interrogators and dodge their questions. We have been trying to learn from him the routes through which he entered India and reached Delhi, who all helped him, and how he was contacting his handler. While he denies ever going to Pakistan, we have evidence to prove that he had multiple tours to that country between 2012 and 2023,” the second officer said.