Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi/Srinagar, Sep 8: In a sweeping operation aimed at dismantling a major terror network, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday conducted raids at 22 locations spread across five states and one union territory, targeting individuals and premises linked to a wide-ranging terror conspiracy case.
The early morning operation spanned Bihar (8 locations), Jammu and Kashmir (9), Uttar Pradesh (2), and one location each in Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. Backed by local police forces and CRPF personnel, the raids were carried out smoothly and without disruption.
Sources in the agency confirmed that the searches were part of an ongoing investigation into a terror plot involving recruitment of youth, fund-raising, and the creation of sleeper cells to support unlawful and violent activities across India.
Several residential properties and business premises suspected of having links to radical outfits were searched. Investigators seized a range of material including electronic gadgets, mobile phones, digital storage devices, documents, and communication tools, which are now being subjected to forensic and technical analysis.
“The material evidence collected today will be critical in tracing connections between domestic suspects and terror groups operating both within India and from across the border,” said an official source familiar with the investigation.
Jammu and Kashmir emerged as the primary focus of the operation, with nine separate locations raided in the union territory. Those targeted are believed to have direct links with transnational terror networks, and the raids are seen as part of a broader crackdown on infrastructure supporting terrorism in the region.
The NIA has intensified its efforts in recent months to disrupt logistical, financial, and recruitment channels of terror outfits. Monday’s coordinated action is being viewed as a significant step in neutralizing sleeper cells and breaking the backbone of local support systems.
The agency is also probing high-profile terror cases, including the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 civilians — including 25 tourists and a local pony handler — were brutally killed by Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists in the Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam.
Following the incident, three LeT terrorists — Suleman, Jibran, and Hamza Afghani — were tracked down and killed on July 28 in the ‘Operation Mahadev’, carried out in the rugged terrain of Dachigam National Park, near Srinagar.
Officials confirmed that photographs recovered from a mobile phone seized after a separate encounter in South Kashmir earlier this year played a crucial role in identifying the trio involved in the Pahalgam attack.
“These individuals were conclusively linked to the Pahalgam killings through digital evidence. Operation Mahadev neutralized the exact perpetrators of the April 22 attack,” a senior security official stated.
As investigations continue, today's raids underscore the NIA's ongoing mission to root out terror ecosystems and safeguard national security in a region still facing intermittent threats from Pakistan-sponsored terror groups.