JAMMU, May 15: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has listed one more accused in its charge sheet for his role in delivering arms and weapons from Pakistan to terrorists of banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit by drones after picking up the consignment from the International Border in Kathua and Samba districts of the Jammu region.
Zakir Hussain alias Sonu is the 10th accused against whom charges have been filed in a case registered in 2022 by the NIA, which has filed its second supplementary charge sheet before a special court in Jammu, an official statement said.
The case pertained to 2022 when the terror handlers picked up consignments of arms, ammunition and explosives sent from across the border through drones on the International Border with a view to handover them to the terrorists.
While some of the consignments successfully reached in the hands of terrorists, others were seized by police and other security agencies on the basis of specific inputs. During past quite some time now, the drone droppings haven’t been reported at the International Border.
The NIA statement said nine other accused were previously named in the charge sheet under various Sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act.
According to the charge sheet, Hussain was supporting and assisting the operatives of LeT in collecting and delivering the arms and ammunition consignments dropped by the drone coming from the Pakistan side.
The case was originally registered by Rajbagh police in Kathua district of Jammu on May 29, 2022 after a drone (hexacopter) was intercepted and recovered with several rounds of Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) and magnetic bombs near Dhalli area, the probe agency said.
The NIA took over the case on July 30, 2022.
Among the accused named in the charge sheet is Faisal Muneer, identified as the main handler of the Over Ground worker (OGW) network active in the border villages of Kathua.
Muneer was working under the directions of designated terrorist, Pakistan-based Sajjad Gul, of the LeT, the probe agency said.
The Pakistani terrorists used to send consignments of weaponry in drones and direct the terror associates here to collect them. However, swift alertness of security agencies has now thwarted such attempts from Pakistan which were aimed at fuelling militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
