JnK Terror Probe: Radicalisation among doctors, Ansar Interim under scanner
Red Fort Blast Tied to J&K Terror Module Involving Doctors, NIA Confirms
New Delhi: A recently uncovered terror module in Jammu and Kashmir has exposed a worrying trend of alleged radicalisation among professionals, including doctors. Authorities claim that individuals were involved in establishing a new terror outfit called Ansar Interim in 2016, which is reported to have planned subversive activities within the Union Territory and beyond. The case is currently under investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
According to the news reports, the network first came to light on October 19 when posters of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) appeared in Bunpora, Nowgam, on the outskirts of Srinagar. CCTV footage analysis led to the arrest of three locals, all of whom had prior cases related to stone-pelting. Interrogations of the arrested locals subsequently led to the arrest of Maulvi, a former paramedic turned Imam from Shopian, who allegedly supplied the posters and helped radicalise the doctors.
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In 2023, the group began acquiring materials, including fertiliser from Sohna and Nuh in Haryana. On the doctor’s instructions, NPK — commonly known as Potassium Nitrate in this context — was also purchased from a chemical shop in Faridabad, reports TOI.
Interrogations revealed that the accused had been watching online tutorials to learn rudimentary Improvised Explosive Device (IED) construction and prepared Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP), a highly unstable peroxide explosive commonly used in terror attacks, as the filling for IEDs.
Additional members were reportedly recruited, including a man from South Kashmir, and brought him to a rented accommodation at Al-Falah University in Faridabad, where TATP explosives were being prepared. The man refused to carry out a ‘fidayeen’ (suicide) attack, citing economic and religious concerns.
A 28-year-old doctor from Pulwama was reportedly the most radicalised member and had planned a Vehicle-Borne IED (VBIED) attack in New Delhi or at a religious site. The plot collapsed after Srinagar police arrested him and seized explosives, prompting the doctor to panic. This reportedly led to a premature blast outside the Red Fort on November 10, which killed over a dozen people.
