Kashmir police steps up crackdown on Jamaat-e-Islami, raids over 300 spots

Police on Wednesday intensified their crackdown on the terror ecosystem in Kashmir, conducting raids at more than 300 locations linked to individuals allegedly affiliated with the banned JeI (Jamaat-e-Islami), officials said.

The large-scale searches, carried out across Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian, Baramulla and Ganderbal districts, followed credible intelligence inputs indicating renewed attempts by JeI-linked elements to revive their activities under new fronts, officials said.

The police said the raids targeted the residences and premises of JeI members and their associates as part of a sustained operation to dismantle the terror-support structure operating at the grassroots level.

According to officials, more than 200 locations were raided in Kulgam district alone, where the police have also conducted over 400 cordon and search operations in the past four days. These operations covered the premises of overground workers, Jammu and Kashmir Nationals Operating from Pakistan (JKNOPs), former terrorist hideouts, and sites of previous encounters.

“The ongoing crackdown is aimed at neutralising the ideological, logistical, and financial support networks that aid terrorism,” a senior officer said.

Officials said around 500 individuals affiliated with JKNOPs and other banned outfits have been interrogated during these operations. Many have been bound down under preventive laws and shifted to District Jail Mattan, Anantnag.

In Baramulla district of north Kashmir, police in Sopore launched a major coordinated counterterror operation with support from other security forces, conducting simultaneous raids at over 30 locations in Sopore, Zaingeer and Rafiabad.

During these raids, a significant quantity of incriminating material, including digital gadgets, documents and printed content linked to JeI, was recovered. Several individuals were detained for questioning to ascertain their involvement in unlawful or separatist activities, officials said.

Similar operations were carried out in Ganderbal, Pulwama and Shopian, where extensive searches led to the seizure of digital devices and printed materials tied to the banned outfit.

Officials said these raids are part of Jammu and Kashmir Police’s preventive strategy to dismantle the terror-separatist ecosystem and ensure that peace and normalcy in the Union Territory remain undisturbed.

“The objective is to choke every link — ideological, financial or logistical — that fuels militancy in the region,” the officials added.

With PTI inputs