Hours after a notorious Pakistani terrorist in the high security Kot Bhalwal Jail was killed in a bid to flee when taken to the border for recovery of arms and ammunition, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), on Thursday, carried out raids at multiple locations along the International Border (IB) in three districts of the Jammu division. The deceased was monitoring weapon dropping by drones.

Sources said sleuths of the NIA carried out raids at multiple places along the IB with Pakistan in the Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts.

The places raided include Kanachak, Ramgarh, Arnia, RS Pura, etc., sources said. During the course of the raids vital evidence connected to drone weapon droppings by Pakistani agencies in the area has been unearthed, they added.

Weapon droppings through drones by terror outfits with the assistance of Pakistan intelligence agencies along the IB in J&K of late has become a major concern for the security forces.

The commander of the dreaded terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) having links also with Al-Badr snatched a rifle from a policeman and fired at him in a bid to escape from the Arnia sector of Jammu where he was taken for recovery of weapons dropped by Pakistani drone on Wednesday evening. The terrorist, Mohammad Ali Hussain alias Qasim, was injured when the police opened fire in retaliation.

Later, the terrorist succumbed at the GMC Hospital in Jammu where he and an injured cop were brought for treatment.

Giving details of the incident, ADGP, Jammu, Mukesh Singh, said that in a case of drone dropping from Pakistan registered in Arnia police station, an accused from Jammu revealed that a Pakistani prisoner/handler by the name of Mohammad Ali Hussain alias Qasim/Jehangir R/O Pakistan, has been instrumental in drone droppings and is the main operative of LeT and Al-Badr.

He was brought before the court on production from jail and subsequently sent into police remand. During sustained questioning, the accused confessed to his role in the Arnia weapon drop case and also disclosed two locations where the arms and ammunition dropped by drone had been buried and concealed.

The ADGP said that in order to recover the weapons, a police team, along with a concerned magistrate, went to the spot one after another. Though no recovery was made at the first place, at the second place namely Toph village (near International Border) in Phallian Mandal area a packet of arms, ammunition and explosives was recovered.

When the packet was being opened, the terrorist attacked one of the police official and snatched his service rifle. He fired at the police party in a bid to flee the spot. In retaliation he got injured and was shifted to GMC hospital Jammu where he succumbed to injuries.

The police recovered an AK rifle, pistol, Chinese grenades and ammunition from the packet found near the border.