J&K Police’s SIA arrests man in connection with ‘white collar’ terror module case

The Jammu and Kashmir Police’s State Investigation Agency arrested a man here on Saturday in connection with a ‘white collar’ terror module case, officials said.

The arrested person has been identified as Tufail Niyaz Bhat, a resident of the Batamaloo area of the city here. He was arrested as part of the ongoing investigation into the ‘white collar’ terror module case, the officials added.

The entire module was busted after the Srinagar Police launched an investigation into the pasting of posters — that threatened police and security forces — on walls in Bunpora and Nowgam, in mid-October.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Srinagar) Dr GV Sundeep Chakravarthy personally led the investigation, and the CCTV footage analysis led to the arrest of the first three suspects — Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid.

Their interrogation led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic turned Imam, who allegedly supplied the posters and radicalised the doctors.

The trail led the investigators to Al Falah University in Faridabad, where Dr Muzzafar Ganaie and Dr Shaheen Sayeed were arrested, and 2,900 kg of explosive material was seized.

Investigators believe a core trio of doctors — Dr Ganaie, Umar Nabi (the driver of an explosives-laden car that exploded near the Red Fort on November 10, killing 13 people), and Muzzaffar Rather (absconding) — were running the module.