‘Inmates were in touch with terror sympathisers’

New Delhi: National Investigation Agency’s probe into a recent raid on the Srinagar prison has revealed that some of the jail inmates, who may also include some of the main terror operatives, were in regular touch with the over-ground workers (OGWs) or sympathisers of terror groups in the Valley. Sources in the investigating agency also suspect that some of the calls may also have been made to some satellite phones to handlers and other important militants currently operating out of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The NIA during a raid at the Srinagar Central prison earlier this month had seized 25 mobile phones, a Pakistani flag, pen drives, an iPod and some jihadi literature. The raids were conducted following a specific tip-off that some of the terror operatives lodged in the jail were using mobile phones to remain in touch with their associates outside. 

It was also suspected that some terror activities were being planned from inside the Srinagar jail also.

NIA sources said they were still conducting detailed technical and forensic investigations and are trying to trace a series of cell and satellite numbers to which calls have been made. Sources said most of these numbers were not in use now which was hampering investigations and that SIM cards for these numbers had been procured on fake identities. 

“Following the raid most of these numbers are not operational now and we suspect that phones and SIM cards may also have been destroyed. But we are still trying to ascertain who exactly was using these phone numbers both inside and outside the jail premises. It appears that militants in the Srinagar jail were in touch with other operatives even in PoK because some of the inmates are from Pakistan,” a senior official added.

The NIA team along with NSG commandos and the local police had raided the barracks and open grounds in the high security zone of the prison. NIA had also used drones while conducting the searches. It is also suspected that the escape of a desperate Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militant, Naveed Jutt, on February 6 from a hospital in Srinagar was also planned inside the Srinagar jail.

Following this incident and the raids some of the most wanted criminals and militants lodged in Srinagar Central jail were shifted to other prisons in the state. The NIA is also investigating the involvement of some insiders, including the prison staff, due to which the inmates got access got access to technical gadgets like pen drives, iPod and cell phones.