Maharashtra ATS arrests LeT recruiter’s handler in J&K: Cops

Maharashtra ATS officials said that they are also looking for a few others in the case and will reveal the name of the arrested LeT handler once they get the clue about them.

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Thursday arrested a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative in Jammu and Kashmir who is allegedly the handler of the terror recruiter Mohammd Junaid Mohammd Ata, who was nabbed in Pune last week, officials said.

A Lashkar-e-Taiba terror recruiter was nabbed in Pune last week. During questioning, he revealed that his handler was based in J&K.

The arrested person is identified as Aftab Hussain Shaha, 28. He was arrested from Kishtawar in Kashmir.

ATS officials said they secured transit remand of Shaha from the court concerned in J&K are bringing him to Mumbai for questioning. The officials added that Junaid was in touch with the arrested handler and the agency found evidence, including their chats related to suspected anti-national activities.

A 12-member ATS team headed by a senior IPS officer has been in J&K for the past one week and questioned several people in connection with the case against Junaid and has been looking for three persons, Hamidulla Zargar, Aftab Shah and Umar, all from J&K. The trio was in touch with Junaid and while questioning, the 28-year-old has revealed that his Lashkar-e -Taiba handler was based in J&K, said the officer.

It appears that Junaid had undergone some terror training sessions during his four visits to J&K, said the officer and added that he had purportedly received an amount of ₹10,000 from a J&K based outfit.

Police officials said Junaid, a native of Khamgaon in Buldhana district, came in contact with the terror group through social media and was subsequently radicalised using religious videos. He was arrested from the house of his relative in Dapodi area of Pune on May 24.

According to the ATS official, Zargar had formed a WhatsApp group called ‘Ansar Gazwatul Hind/Tawheed’ and Junaid was part of the group. They, officials said, allegedly discussed anti-national and terror activities. Junaid had been frequently changing his SIM cards and had created various accounts on Facebook for recruiting new members.