Same LeT module behind bank robberies in Kashmir:
Police
CCTV footage reveals identity of
three militants
·
Hindustan Times (Jalandhar)
·
17 Dec 2016
·
Abhishek Saha
abhishek.saha@hindustantimes.com
SRINAGAR:
Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday said the armed men who robbed a bank in
south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday, have been identified as militants
of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), from the CCTV footage recovered from the spot.
The
militants looted around ₹10 lakh – of which around ₹16,000 was in demonetised notes and
the rest in new currency – from a Jammu and Kashmir Bank branch in
Ratnipora area.
The CCTV
footage shows the gunmen roughing up people in the bank. Speaking to HT,
Pulwama superintendent of police Rayees Mohammad Bhat said, “After analysing
the CCTV footage, we have been able to clearly identify the three militants
involved in the robbery.”
“It is a
module of the LeT and has been active for a year now,” Bhat said. The module
comprises three militants: two foreigners— Abu Ali and Abu Ismail — and a local
militant, Arif Dar, Bhat added.
In the
Ratnipora robbery, police say Abu Ali and Arif Dar had entered the bank while
two others waited outside. This was the third incident of bank robbery in the
Valley after demonetisation and Bhat said the same LeT module has been behind
all of them.
On
November 21, suspected militants robbed a bank in Chrar-e-Sharief area of
central Kashmir's Budgam district and escaped with nearly ₹14 lakh cash.
Days
later, Pulwama police arrested five over-ground workers of the LeT, who had
helped the three militants in the robbery. Police had then said, in its press
statement, that the conspiracy of robbing was hatched and masterminded by Arif
Dar, Abu Ali and Abu Ismail.
On
December 8, four militants looted a branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank at Arihal
in Pulwama district and fired several rounds before fleeing with cash. They
decamped with nearly ₹14 lakh from the bank.
On
repeated attacks on banks in Kashmir after demonetisation, Bhat said, “It is
because of the demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1000 notes.”
He claimed the militant outfits have been facing a cash crunch after
demonetisation, and hence, looting banks to get funds.
After
analysing the CCTV footage, we have identified three militants. It is a module
of the LeT, which has been active for a year. The module comprises three
militants — two foreigners, Abu Ali and Abu Ismail and a local militant Arif
Dar. RAYEES MOHAMMAD BHAT , Pulwama SP
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