The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday carried out searches at 15 locations in Jammu and Kashmir in connection with two cases and arrested one Irfan Ahmed Dar, who provided logistic support and also arranged arms and ammunition for Lashkar-e-Mustafa (LeM) terrorists.

An NIA spokesperson said that the anti-terror probe agency carried out searches at nine locations in Jammu and Kashmir in connection with the LeM case which it registered in March this year, besides raiding six places in connection with the recovery of 5 kg IED from a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist in Jammu on June 27 this year.

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The official said, in the LeM case, the NIA along with J&K police and CRPF conducted searches at nine locations in Shopian, Anantnag and Jammu districts.

The official further said that the NIA recovered many digital devices, including mobile phones, hard disks, memory cards, pen drives and laptops, along with several booklets containing incriminating materials from the premises of the arrested accused and the suspects in the case.

“Subsequent to the searches, Dar, a resident of Anantnag, was arrested on Saturday,” the official said.

The official added that preliminary investigation has revealed that Dar was involved in the conspiracy of carrying out terrorist activities in collusion with other arrested accused persons.

Another NIA official told IANS, “Dar provided logistic support to the members of the newly formed LeM. He was also instrumental in procuring arms and ammunition and then providing them to the LeM terrorists.”

The NIA had registered a case in connection with the conspiracy hatched by LeM and its chief, Hidayat-ullah Malik, who recced the office of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, working at the behest of Pakistan-based proscribed terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), to carry out terrorist activities in Jammu in March this year.

Last week, the NIA had arrested two LeM terrorists — Mohammaf Arman Ali aka Arman Mansuri, and Mohammad Ehsanullah aka Guddu Ansari — both residents of Bihar’s Saran district. The duo was involved in transportation of two separate consignments of illegal arms and ammunition from Bihar to Mohali and Ambala.

“The said weapons were further transported to Hidayat Ullah Malik, a self-declared commander-in-chief of LeM in Jammu and Kashmir,” the official said.

The case was originally registered on February 6 this year in Jammu in connection with a conspiracy hatched by the members of LeM, an offshoot of Jaish-e-Mohammed, to carry out terrorist activities in J&K with an intention to threaten the sovereignty, integrity and security of India.

The NIA had taken over the probe on March 2.