Retired Soldier Involved In Receiving Arms From Across LOC Arrested In Delhi

Delhi Police has arrested an alleged member of Lashkar-e-Taiba module operating in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused, who is a retired army personnel, has played an instrumental role in receiving arms and ammunition from across the Line of Control (LoC), they said.

The accused identified as Riyaz Ahmad Rather, a resident of Kupwara district, was arrested on Sunday from New Delhi Railway Station, police said.

He was involved in hatching a conspiracy along with one Khursheed Ahmad Rather and Ghulam Sarwar Rather in receiving arms and ammunition from across the LoC by the terrorist handlers, a senior police officer said.

Information was received from the investigating agencies in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday that one Riyaz Ahmad Rather was wanted in the recent terror module case busted by them where five people were arrested and incriminating material, including five AK rifles (short), five AK Magazines and 16 short AK rounds were recovered, he added.

These arms and ammunition were sent by Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) based LeT terrorist handlers Manzoor Ahmad Sheikh alias Shakoor, a resident of Gabra Karnah, and Qazi Mohammad Khushal, a resident of Dhanni Karnah, the officer said, adding that both were operating from across the border.

It was informed that Riyaz was on the run and would reach New Delhi Railway Station in the early hours. A team was constituted and deployed at the New Delhi Railway Station. They identified Riyaz and apprehended him when he was trying to flee from exit gate number 1 in the early hours, the officer said.

It was revealed that he, along with his friend Altaf, had boarded the Mahakaushal Express from Jabalpur and reached Hazarat Nizamuddin railway station around 3 pm on Saturday, police said.

They took an auto-rickshaw and reached New Delhi Railway Station. Riyaz was about to go to some other hideout, they said.

Riyaz is suspected of having received a consignment of arms and ammunition from Khursheed Ahmad Rather and Ghulam Sarwar Rather -- both already arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Riyaz and his friend Altaf retired from the Indian Army on January 31, 2023, police said.

One mobile phone and one SIM card have been recovered from Riyaz's possession, they said.

Riyaz has been arrested under appropriate sections of law and the Jammu and Kashmir Police officials have been informed for further necessary action at their end, police said.

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