Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday searched 10 locations across Jammu and Kashmir in a probe into an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) network suspected of helping Pakistan-based handlers move, she…

Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday searched 10 locations across Jammu and Kashmir in a probe into an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) network suspected of helping Pakistan-based handlers move, shelter and sustain infiltrating terrorists inside the Valley.The searches, spread across Kupwara, Kulgam, Bandipora, Baramulla and Sopore, underline the security agencies’ focus on the local support structures that can allow cross-border infiltration to translate into terrorist activity on the ground, a spokesperson of the NIA said in a statement.India’s most-wanted terrorist Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan, NIA tells Jammu court, secures warrantThe case originated with the arrest of an alleged LeT-linked overground worker at a naka point in Srinagar late on March 31, he said. A hand grenade and live ammunition were recovered from him.The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Pakistani nationals allegedly linked to the conspiracy and exposed suspected links with local facilitators.Investigators are now trying to establish how the network allegedly operated and how Pakistan-based handlers maintained contact with their associates in Kashmir.The probe is examining suspected arrangements for shelter, movement, communication and reconnaissance, as well as the supply of weapons and explosives.The anti-terror probe agency is also tracing financial transactions and communication channels to determine the extent of the network and identify other people who may have assisted it.For security agencies, such local facilitators form a critical link between cross-border infiltration and the ability of an armed group to operate after entering the Valley.Disrupting that link can potentially prevent infiltrated terrorists from obtaining safe houses, transport, information and other resources needed to evade security forces.The NIA has played an increasingly prominent role in investigating this wider terror ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir since 2017.Its cases have covered terror financing, militant networks, infiltration and alleged support provided by local operatives, allowing investigators to follow financial, communication and logistical links across multiple jurisdictions.The current case was initially registered at Zakoora police station in Srinagar before being taken over by the NIA as RC-02/2026/NIA/JMU.The agency is now seeking to establish the complete chain linking the Pakistan-based handlers with their alleged local network.Further arrests and recoveries could follow as investigators identify the individuals involved and determine their respective roles.

Source: Deccan Herald