8 militant associates held for threat posters in Sopore

SRINAGAR:FOUR days after unidentified gunmen attacked and injured four civilians including a fruit trader and his three-yearold daughter, Jammu and Kashmir Police claimed to have arrested eight militant associates in north Kashmir’s Sopore town.

“Eight persons were arrested following the appearance of posters in Sopore area in which locals were threatened and intimidated. A case has been registered,’’ a police spokesperson said.

He said after the appearance of posters in Sopore town and its adjoining areas in which locals were asked to observe a complete shutdown and threatened of serious consequences against the violators.

“As per the initial investigation, eight militant associates— Ajaz Mir, Umar Mir, Tauseef Najar, Imtiyaz Najar, Omar Akbar, Faizan Lateef, Danish Habib and Showkat Ahmad Mir— had prepared these threatening posters and circulated them in the locality,” the spokesperson said.

Police said an active local militant Sajjad Mir alais Haider and his other associates Mudasir Pandith and Asif Maqbool Bhat affiliated with the Lashkar-e-taiba were the principal architects on whose behest the posters were published and circulated in the area.

“The active militants who were part of this conspiracy have instructed the individuals to publish threatening posters. Police have recovered the computers and other accessories which were used for drafting and publishing the posters,’’ the spokersperson said.

On Friday, a baby girl and her father were among four persons injured in a terror attack after suspected militants barged into the house of a prominent fruit trader in Sopore and opened fire, injuring his son Arshad Ahmad, three-year-old granddaughter Asma besides two other persons Mohammad Ramzan and Mohammad Ashraf.