JAMMU: Terrorist Firdaus Ahmed Natnoo, who was arrested from Jammu’s Doda district with a cache of arms and ammunition on Friday, was planning to execute “sensational political killings” to revive terrorism in the district, the Army said on Sunday. Natnoo’s affiliation is yet to be disclosed.
“Natnoo was involved in revitalizing the terror footprint in Doda, which had been declared terrorist-free after the encounter killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Tahir Ahmed Bhat alias Uqaab on May 17 last year,” said Jammu-based defence spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand.
“As per intelligence inputs, Natnoo was planning the political murders to revive terrorism in the region besides grabbing headlines. He and his associates — tasked with luring youth into terrorism, procuring arms and fundraising — were being tracked by security forces for the past two months,” the spokesperson said.
“Early Friday, a joint team of the Army, CRPF, SSB and J&K Police launched a cordon-and-search operation in Bekhriyan, Udhiyanpur and Nagri, Doda town and arrested Natnoo from his Bekhriyan residence while he was trying to escape. Three Chinese pistols with five magazines, 15 rounds and a silencer were recovered from him, besides incriminating material like personal diaries, a photo album, a will cum suicide note and a machine to probably dig underground hideouts,” Lt Col Anand said.
A case was registered in this connection and further investigation was underway, the spokesperson added.