NIA raids fugitive accused’s house in J&K

Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday raided the house of a terrorist on the run, Riaz Ahmed alias Hazari, in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district as part of its investigation into the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terror conspiracy case. The agency also announced a cash reward of Rs 3 lakh for information on him.According to an NIA statement, the searches led to the seizure of a mobile phone which was being analysed. “The case, registered initially by ATS, Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow), on September 12, 2018, was re-registered by NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on September 24, 2018. The case, registered against one Kamruk Zaman and others, related to a criminal conspiracy to carry out terror attacks by HM cadres at different places in UP and other parts of India,” it said.A chargesheet was filed against Kamruk and one fugitive accused, Osama Bin Javed, at a special NIA court in Lucknow on March 11, 2019, under various sections of the IPC and the UAPA. “Osama was killed in an encounter with security forces on September 28, 2019,” the NIA statement said.Subsequently, on May 29, 2021, a supplementary chargesheet was filed against arrested accused Nisar Ahmad Sheikh and Nishad Ahmad Butt, both residents of J&K, the statement said, adding: “A second supplementary chargesheet was filed against arrested accused Danish Naseer on November 25, 2022.”Investigations revealed that Kamruk was radicalised by Osama to join HM and both received nine months of physical and weapon-handling training by cadres of the terror outfit, the NIA statement said. “Absconding accused Riaz Ahmad, an active terrorist and district deputy commander of HM, along with another co-accused Mohammad Amin alias Jahangir Saroori, also an active terrorist and district commander of HM, was involved in recruiting and training accused Kamruk Zaman and Osama Bin Javed in the forests of Kishtwar,” the statement added.