Jammu, Jul 4: Six sticky bombs, as well as other weapons and ammunition, were found when a militant hideout in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district was discovered, authorities said on Monday.
In a secluded area in the Reasi district on Sunday, locals overpowered Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Talib Hussain Shah and his associate Faisal Ahmad Dar and handed them up to police, busting the hideaway, a police official said.
During questioning, he said Shah disclosed the whereabouts of a hiding in his Draj hamlet of Rajouri; as a result, a raid was conducted, and the hideout was busted.
Six sticky bombs, three pistol magazines, 19 pistol rounds, an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL), three UBGL grenades, 75 AK assault rifle ammunition, and an IED remote with antenna were also found during the search of the hideout, the official reported.
Following their tactful disarming by neighbourhood residents, Shah and his Kashmiri collaborator Dar were apprehended in Tuksan Dhok. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Director General of Police Dilbag Singh praised the pair’s bravery and offered them financial awards.
However, a political brawl broke out between the local BJP and Congress chapters after it emerged that Shah was an active member of the saffron party and had recently been chosen to lead its IT and social media cell in charge of the minority morcha in the province of Jammu.
On social media, some images apparently depicting Shah meeting BJP leaders surfaced.
According to one of the images, Sheikh Bashir, the party’s leader, gave him a bouquet and a letter on May 9 designating him as the new Minority Morcha IT and social media incharge. Ravinder Raina, the J&K BJP president, is purportedly seen giving him the letter and the bouquet in the photo (Jammu province).
