Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Nov 25: Police today said three militants including two foreigners with the assistance of five-member Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) module looted Jammu and Kashmir Bank branch of Malpora in Budgam district early this week.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Pulwama, Rayees Bhat, told a press conference in Pulwama that based upon specific leads about the bank robbery that occurred on November 21 and the trail left by assailants, police meticulously dealt with the clues using technology as well as human sources.
“During the process, the team zeroed in on one Muhammad Iqbal Wani, a resident of Chewa Kalan in Pulwama district. His arrest and disclosures further led to Farooq Ahmad Bhat and Tanveer Alam Wani, both residents of Chew Kalan,” the SP said.
The SP said that during questioning it was found that the trio ran a “highly committed and confidential” Over Ground Workers (OGWs) network of LeT outfit. “They revealed that conspiracy of robbing the Malpora Branch was hatched and master minded by one Arif Dar alias Abu Haibatullah – resident of Lelhar village of Kakapora in Pulwama, who is an active local militant of LeT outfit, along with two foreign militants, identified by their codes, Abu Ali and Abu Ismail,” the SP said.
Bhat further said that the OGWs provided all the support for facilitating the robbery, including transportation, logistics and had conducted recce of the bank multiple times. “The group also used the services of Tanveer Bhat and Raqeeb Rather, also residents of Chewa Kalan, for driving the assailants to and fro upto Malpora,” he said.
The SP said the militant trio on November 21 left Chew Kalan village along with LeT OGWs in two vehicles and on reaching Malpora, they barged into the Bank branch and robbed it of nearly Rs 13 lakh by keeping the employees at gun point. “It was their (militants) plan basically,” he said.
“After the incident, the group drove back to Chew Kalan, where these militants de-boarded en route and decamped along with the cash. With the arrest of these five suspects, a very important OGW module of LeT outfit stands busted. The hunt is on for the militants who are in hiding,” the SP Pulwama informed.
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