The Jammu and Kashmir Police’s special cell, Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), on Thursday (March 26, 2026) said it busted a recruitment module after carrying out searches at 10 locations in three districts of the Kashmir valley.
According to the CIK, searches were conducted at multiple locations across the districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal, and Shopian that resulted in the “busting of a significant terrorist recruitment module”.
The CIK said the module was being handled by a Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, Shabir Ahmad Lone, who originally hailed from Kangan in J&K’s Ganderbal district.
“During the searches, incriminating materials including digital devices, SIM cards, mobile phones, laptops, and other documents having bearing on the investigation were recovered and seized,” the police said.
The CIK said Lone operated under multiple aliases, including Raju and Zafar Saddique. “The handler is highly radicalised and trained, having undergone structured arms training (Daura-e-Aam and Daura-e-Khas) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” it said.
According to the police, Lone initially worked as an over-ground worker for a terrorist outfit in the late 1990s before joining terrorist organisation LeT in the early 2000s. “He later infiltrated into India via the Bangladesh border and has remained actively involved in terror-related activities, including conspiracy in high-profile attacks. After facing legal proceedings in India in the past, he exfiltrated to Bangladesh, where he has since been operating and coordinating terrorist recruitment and network expansion,” the police said.
The police said Lone was also “in close touch with senior leadership of proscribed terrorist organisations and has played a key role in reviving cross-border terror modules, including those recently unearthed in different parts of the country”.
“He is currently believed to be based in Bangladesh and continues to direct operations through a network of associates and over-ground workers. He is the most-wanted terrorist operating from foreign land,” the police said.
The CIK said Irfan Ahmad Wani, 45, working as a religious functionary at a local mosque, was arrested from Heerpura, Shopian, earlier. “Preliminary investigation indicated that the accused was in continuous contact with the handler Lone and other terrorists based in Pakistan and Afghanistan through encrypted messaging platforms. He was actively engaged in facilitating recruitment, radicalisation, and logistical support at the local level,” the police said.
The police said encrypted communication platforms and other digital means were used by the module to maintain secrecy and coordinate with handlers across borders.
The ongoing investigation was aimed at dismantling the broader terror ecosystem by identifying and taking strict legal action against all individuals involved, including over-ground workers, facilitators, conduits, and sympathisers operating both within Jammu & Kashmir and from foreign soil, including Bangladesh.