Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force duo behind several grenade attacks arrested in J&K's Poonch

JAMMU: J&K Police on Saturday claimed to have busted a module of the proscribed Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force ( JKGF ) — a shadow outfit of Jaish-e-Mohammad — in Poonch district and solved several past grenade attacks with the arrest of two JKGF terrorists.

At a press conference, ADGP (Jammu Zone) Anand Jain termed the twin arrest a “very big achievement” for security agencies. He said the JKGF duo was “part of a larger conspiracy and tried to spread terror in Poonch” by carrying out grenade attacks at several places — including a temple, a gurdwara, an Army camp and a hospital — to disturb peace and communal harmony in the region.

The first arrest came Friday afternoon in Poonch’s Surankote when a joint team of security forces apprehended Abdul Aziz , a resident of Hari village, Surankote, with two grenades at a checkpoint in Dundak area. After interrogation, police recovered another grenade from Abdul’s residence and later that evening, arrested his aide Manwar Hussain , also from Hari village, with a pistol, a magazine and 10 rounds.

With the arrest of these two terrorists — who had links across the border — all five cases of grenade attacks that took place since Nov 2023 have been solved, the ADGP said Saturday. Abdul was involved in lobbing grenades at a Shiva temple in Surankote on Nov 15, 2023; Gurdwara Mahant Sahib in Poonch on March 26, 2024; an Army sentry post in Poonch’s Kamsar in June 2024 and a school ground near a CRPF sentry post on Aug 14, 2024. Hussain, meanwhile, had thrown a grenade near the district hospital quarters on July 18, 2024, police said.

Questioning of the terrorists has so far revealed that they had received four consignments of arms, ammunition and Rs 1.5 lakh cash from their cross-border handlers, the ADGP stated, adding that the duo was trained in handling pistols and had fired a few rounds in forested areas for practice. The duo also pasted anti-national posters at different locations in Surankote, including govt high schools in Hari, Dhundak, Sanai, Eidgah-Hari and other adjoining areas. These posters were printed at Hussain's house and pasted in Aug last year on the directions of their handler to create fear among the public, police said.

Last month, another member of this module, Mohd Shabir, a resident of Daryala, was arrested on Sept 12 with a large quantity of explosives. Abdul had supplied the explosives to him, police said.

“This operation marks a crucial step in dismantling terror networks, as both individuals were involved in orchestrating terror activities, including grenade attacks on religious sites and hospitals, terror financing, anti-national propaganda, and arms smuggling,” Defence PRO Lt Col Suneel Bartwal said, adding: “This success follows last month’s arrest of another associate, underscoring the relentless efforts of the Indian Army and security forces to ensure peace and stability in the region.”