3 min readSrinagarMar 26, 2026 07:12 PM IST
Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) on Thursday conducted extensive searches at multiple locations across the districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal and Shopian, leading to the busting of a “significant terrorist recruitment module”. CIK said the group was operating in coordination with handlers from across the Line of Control (LoC) and allegedly in connivance with a network based in Bangladesh.
The searches were carried out at 10 locations in the Kashmir Valley in pursuance of search warrants issued by the Court of the Special Judge designated under the NIA Act in Srinagar, and pertain to an FIR under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act registered at Police Station CIK.
“During the course of investigation, it has emerged that the module is being handled by a Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Shabir Ahmad Lone, originally hailing from Kangan, in Ganderbal district of Kashmir, who operates under multiple aliases including Raju and Zafar Saddique,” officials said.
The handler, police said, is highly radicalised and trained, having undergone structured arms training “Daura-e-Aam” and “Daura-e-Khas” in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
“Shabbir initially worked as an over-ground worker for a terrorist outfit in the late 1990s before joining terrorist organisation LeT in the early 2000s,” officials said. He is later said to have infiltrated into India via the Bangladesh border and has remained actively involved in terror-related activities, including conspiracy in high-profile attacks.
“After facing legal proceedings in India in the past, he exfiltrated to Bangladesh, where he has since been operating and coordinating terrorist recruitment and network expansion,” police said.
Investigations have also revealed that Lone is in close contact with the senior leadership of proscribed terrorist organisations and has played a key role in “reviving cross-border terror modules,” including those recently unearthed in different parts of the country.
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He is currently believed to be based in Bangladesh and continues to direct operations through a network of associates and over-ground workers.
CIK, the counter-intelligence wing of J&K Police, had earlier arrested one of his close associates, Irfan Ahmad Wani, a 45-year-old individual from Heerpura, Shopian, who was working as a religious functionary at a local mosque.
Preliminary investigation indicates that the accused was in continuous contact with Lone and other terrorists based in Pakistan and Afghanistan through encrypted messaging platforms, officials said, adding, “He was actively engaged in facilitating recruitment, radicalisation, and logistical support at the local level.”
