Indian police launch extensive raids targeting banned Jamaat-e-Islami in Kashmir following Delhi’s deadliest blast in over a decade that killed 12.
NEW DELHI: Indian police have conducted sweeping raids targeting a banned Islamist political party in disputed Kashmir days after the deadliest blast in the capital for over a decade.
The raids represent a renewed security crackdown following Monday’s explosion that killed at least 12 people near the historic Red Fort in Old Delhi.
Police across multiple Kashmir districts confirmed conducting “large-scale operations” since Wednesday targeting Jamaat-e-Islami networks.
Awantipora police said they carried out “extensive raids at multiple locations” to “dismantle the terror ecosystem and its support structures”.
Bandipora police reported seizing “incriminating material” during their operations.
Sopore police revealed they searched more than 30 locations in their crackdown on Jamaat-e-Islami-linked networks.
Officers also raided Al-Falah University in Faridabad on the southern outskirts of the capital.
Security forces demolished a house in Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Friday though police haven’t commented on the destruction.
The government has described Monday’s blast as “a heinous terror incident” blamed on “anti-national forces”.
India’s National Investigation Agency is leading the probe into the explosion with vows to bring perpetrators to justice.
Officials haven’t confirmed whether the Kashmir raids connect to Monday’s blast investigation.
Indian media have widely linked the November 10 explosion with pre-blast arrests involving explosive materials and assault rifles.
Police said those arrested were connected to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and its Kashmir offshoot Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.
Jammu and Kashmir police investigations revealed “a white collar terror ecosystem involving radicalised professionals and students” before the blast occurred.
Monday’s explosion marked Delhi’s most significant security incident since April’s Pahalgam attack that killed 26 mainly Hindu civilians.
Kashmir remains divided between India and Pakistan with both claiming the Himalayan territory entirely. – AFP
