JAMMU, Aug 31: A police officer reported on Thursday that eight fugitive terrorists were apprehended in this area as a result of a special search by the State Investigation Agency and the Criminal Investigation Department for assassins and terrorist associates hiding out in the community.
After almost 30 years, the eight terrorists sought in Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act cases were finally captured by State Investigation Agency (SIA) detectives working covertly for months with assistance from Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inputs, the official added.In order to fulfil its bigger goal and mandate of attaining “zero terrorism” in Jammu and Kashmir, SIA has launched a specific push to track down and bring all fugitives in terrorism-related matters before the relevant court.
The SIA has so far validated and identified 369 absconders—215 in Jammu and 154 in Kashmir—of the total 734 absconders, comprising 417 in Kashmir and 317 in Jammu, wanted in 327 TADA and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) cases.Of the 369 documented absconders, he said that 80 have passed away, 45 are living in Pakistan or the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), among other places, 127 are still unaccounted for, and four are imprisoned.
The eight people who eluded capture were charged in TADA charges that were filed at the TADA Court in Jammu thirty years ago and were involved in terrorism and disruptive activities, according to the official. The cases were filed in various Doda district police stations.He said that they went underground for decades in order to avoid the law’s reach before emerging to resume normal family life in their hometown or other remote locations.
According to the official, some of these fugitives were able to enter the government sector and secure contracts, while others found work in the private sector or even in the legal system.
Adil Farooq Faridi of Jammu, a government employee currently assigned to the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education, Ishfaq Ahmed, a writer who was employed by the Doda court complex, Mohd Iqbal, Mujahid Hussain, Tariq Hussain, Ishtiaq Ahmed Dev, Ajaz Ahmed, and Jameel Ahmed are among those who have been detained.According to the official, they would appear before the TADA/POTA court in Jammu in response to warrants issued against them.
He claimed that between 1991 and 1993, the terrorists who had been detained had committed a number of terrorist acts, including murders, kidnappings for ransom, inciting people to violence by fabricating stories during prayer services, and atrocities committed under duress.
Following the discovery of a sizable cache of weapons and ammunition in the Shambaz neighbourhood of Doda on June 22, 1994, they were also mentioned in a FIR.The official stated that the SIA will also look into how these terrorist fugitives from justice were able to avoid capture for such a long time and lead normal lives.
