The Counter Intelligence Kashmir conducted a late-night raid at a doctor’s residence in Malaknag, Anantnag on Saturday, as part of the ongoing investigation into the white-collar terror module in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). A mobile phone was seized for forensic analysis, said top intelligence sources. During the search, officials found that a woman doctor from Haryana was living at the accused doctor’s house as a tenant. Her verification process is on to map the module and its links, said sources. Bilal Ahmad Wani, a dry-fruit seller, was also picked up for questioning along with his son, who attempted self-immolation in Qazigund. He was rushed to GMC Anantnag with burns, where he remains in custody, according to police. Police, meanwhile, maintain
that Dr Muzaffar Rather, a central figure in the white-collar module is currently in Afghanistan. His brother, Dr Adeel Rather, was arrested earlier from Saharanpur.
The investigation
The focus of agenciesis to find out the financial, communication, and travel patterns of the Rather-linked network.
The self-immolation attempt has put focus on local civilians who may have unknowingly or deliberately supported the module, said sources.
This is a signal that the crackdown is set to go beyond medical professionals to the entire neighbourhood who possibly worked as Overground Workers (OGW).
The white-collar terror network
Last Monday, the authorities busted a white-collar module, involving doctors from Jammu and Kashmir who were working in Faridabad and other regions, after recovery of 2,563 kg of explosives and 350 kg of ammonium nitrate. The same evening, a powerful explosion in a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort Metro Station rocked the national capital. This led to the uncovering of what the authorities called the white-collar terror module. Several doctors were found to be linked to the blast.
Meanwhile, an accidental blast at a police station in Nowgam on the outskirts of Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar killed at least nine people on Friday night. The blast occurred when the police and forensic team officials were extracting samples from the large cache of explosives seized from Haryana’s Faridabad.
The raids by the Jammu & Kashmir Police, Anti-Terrorism Squads (ATS) and others have revealed how terror outfits are recruiting not from traditional madrassa networks but from among doctors, engineers and university graduates.
