The team is also likely to seek the joint interrogation of two alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba overground workers arrested in Jammu. (Representaional image)
Days after the Delhi Police unearthed a terror plot by suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives to carry out suicide attacks in Delhi, putting the national capital on a high alert, a team of Special Cell officers has been sent to Jammu and Kashmir.
The team, comprising of two inspector rank officials, are also likely to seek the joint interrogation of two alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba overground workers arrested on November 3 and 24 from Pulwama district and Bhatindi in Jammu respectively, said an official in the Special Cell.
The arrested men had reportedly revealed to the concerned investigators that they were working under south Kashmir-based militant Dujana (suspected to be top LeT militant Abu Dujana), who along with his main aide Ukasha (also suspected to be Abu Ukasha), were allegedly plotting Udhampur-like attacks at cities in northern India, including Delhi, said the official.
Apart from Dujana and Ukasha, the Special Cell team are looking out for around half-a-dozen suspects believed to be cadres working under the two. The team is in constant touch with other agencies probing the Udhampur incident and the roles of suspects arrested later in connection with the incident, said the official.
Meanwhile, the Security Unit of Delhi Police has been briefed about the matter as the alleged operatives are believed to have targeted "high profile personalities", which may include Members of Parliament and foreign delegates, said the official, adding that security has been heightened in crowded markets and certain buildings subjected to a perceived terror threat.
The Special Cell is also trying to trace a money trail in connection with suspected deals of arms and ammunition involving the alleged LeT operatives, said the official.
The alleged conspiracy came to light when the Special Cell of Delhi Police received an intelligence input about two suspected LeT operatives, identified as Dujana and Ukasha, who allegedly infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), following which an First Information Report (FIR) was registered, police sources said.
The FIR was registered on December 1 at the Special Cell office in Delhi's Lodhi Colony under Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and doesn't name any suspects. It was submitted at the concerned anti-terror court, the sources said.
According to the complaint, LeT is conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks in Delhi and other places in the country, for which alleged handlers have infiltrated operatives in India through Jammu and Kashmir and other international borders, the sources said.
"Two of them, identified as Dujana and Ukasha, have been reported to be based in the Kashmir Valley for quite long and are allegedly conspiring to target high profile personalities in Delhi by carrying out 'fidayeen' (suicide attacks) or grenade attacks either themselves or through their cadres," the sources added.
Some of the cadres are believed to be using code names like Noman, Zaid and Khursheed They are also suspected to be targeting particularly crowded areas in the city, police said.
Following the registration of the FIR, senior officials directed the Special Cell to deploy sources to collect information about LeT sympathisers, mount technical surveillance and take all possible measures to track down the threat as the earliest, police said.