Three Kashmir residents suspected of aiding terror activities were arrested on Thursday when they were travelling in a truck on the Jammu-Pathankot highway, officials said. Following interrogation of the arrested persons, raids were conducted in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir and neighbouring Punjab for their associates, they said, adding that four more people have been detained and are being questioned. The arrested persons included Imtiyaz Ahmad Nengroo, whose brother Riyaz Nengroo was arrested while transporting from Jammu to Kashmir a group of three Pakistani terrorists affiliated to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) outfit in September 2018. The truck was intercepted by the police at Jhajjar Kotli near here, leading to a gunfight which left all the three terrorists, hiding in a specially build cavity inside the cargo cabin of the truck, dead. Riyaz of Pulwama and Mohammad Iqbal Rather of Budgam were arrested and subsequently charge-sheeted in the case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Acting on Army intelligence inputs, the officials said, the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested Imtiyaz and his two associates when they were travelling in a truck in the Purmandal area on Jammu-Pathankote highway Thursday evening. The truck was also seized, they said. The arrested persons are suspected to be part of a module involved in transporting terrorists and arms and ammunition to Kashmir Valley. “Raids were conducted on their disclosure in Ramban and Banihal in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir and in Punjab,” one of the officials said, adding that four people were subsequently detained. On September 12, three JeM terrorists were arrested, along with a huge cache of arms and ammunition, during search of a truck in Kathua district. The truck was coming from Punjab and was heading to Kashmir when it was intercepted by the police. Later the police arrested two more persons, including the owner of the truck, from south Kashmir. Six AK assault rifles, six magazines and 180 rounds of ammunition, and Rs 11,000 in cash were seized from the truck.
