Two suspected JeM terrorists held in UP, ATS gets two-day transit remand

Lucknow, Feb 22 Two terror suspects from Jammu and Kashmir were arrested from Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, Director General of Police O.P. Singh said.

Talking to the media, Singh said the two, both in their early 30s, were caught by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh Police on the basis of intelligence inputs. The ATS has procured a two-day transit remand of the two suspected terrorists.

He said the arrested persons owed allegiance to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the Pakistan-based terror outfit which claimed responsibility for the recent terror attack in Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF troopers.

The two have been identified as Shahnawaz from Kulgam district and Aquib from Pulwama district, both in Jammu and Kashmir. Two weapons and some cartridges were recovered from their possession.

Soon after the transit remand was granted by a local court in Saharanpur, Shahnawaz and Aquib were taken to the state capital by an ATS squad for questioning.

While one of them was tasked with recruiting new persons into the terror outfit's fold, the other was trained in grenade making, the police said.

Based on the leads provided by the duo, the ATS has picked up a few persons for questioning from Khaankhah and Naaz Manzil areas in Saharanpur. Five students from Odisha were also being interrogated, the police said.

Raids were also being carried out in Deoband, Saharanpur, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar to round up a few suspects, DGP Singh said.