Batamloo Man Arrested by SIA for Peddling Guns for Kashmir Doctor | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Saturday made what officials described as the first formal arrest in the “interstate” terror module that was busted earlier this month. A senior officer confirmed to the newspaper The Indian Express that “the investigation agency has formally arrested Niyaz. This is the first arrest by the SIA since it took over the case from the Jammu and Kashmir Police.”

The man arrested has been identified as Tufail Niyaz Bhat, a resident of Batamaloo in Srinagar. Officials said the arrest was made on the basis of strong leads linking him to the terror module that had spread across Srinagar, Anantnag and parts of the Delhi–NCR region. Niyaz, who worked as a technician, is currently under sustained questioning, and officials indicated that more arrests are likely as the investigation widens.

According to officers, Niyaz allegedly supplied the AK rifle that was later recovered from a locker belonging to one of the accused doctors at the Government Medical College (GMC) in Anantnag. Police sources stated that the recovery was made based on information provided by Dr Muzzaffar Rather, one of the principal accused in the case. Investigators believe Niyaz had received the rifle from a Pakistani handler before passing it on to Rather.

The case began in mid-October, when Srinagar Police started investigating posters threatening security forces that were found pasted on walls in Bunpora, Nowgam. CCTV analysis helped trace the first set of suspects, Arif Nisar Dar, Yasir-ul-Ashraf and Maqsood Ahmad Dar, whose interrogation then led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic turned Imam. He is alleged to have supplied the posters and played a key role in radicalising several young men, including doctors.

The investigation eventually extended to Al Falah University in Faridabad, where police arrested Dr Muzzafar Ganaie and Dr Shaheen Sayeed, and recovered 2,900 kg of explosive material. Investigators believe that Ganaie, Dr Muzzaffar Rather and Umar Un Nabi formed the core operational trio of the module. Umar was driving the explosives-laden car that detonated near the Red Fort on November 10, killing 13 people, and died in the blast. A video recovered after the explosion showed him justifying the suicide attack, according to officials.

Soon after the module was uncovered, JK Police detained Niyaz. He was handed over to the SIA once the agency formally took over the investigation. Meanwhile, three doctors earlier arrested by JK Police, Muzamil Shakeel Ganai, Adeel Ahmad Rather and Shaheen Shahid, have been transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is now probing the Red Fort blast case.

Officials said the SIA is pursuing several new leads emerging from the interrogation of the latest arrest, and that the scope of the operation is expected to widen in the coming days.