Jammu & Kashmir Police intensify crackdown on terror support networks in Sopore and Handwara

Srinagar: In a coordinated offensive to dismantle the terror ecosystem in north Kashmir, Sopore and Handwara Police have launched massive preventive operations targeting Over Ground Workers (OGWs), terror associates, and relatives of operatives linked to Pakistan-based handlers and banned organisations.

In Sopore, police initiated a large-scale crackdown, picking up numerous suspected OGWs and sympathisers for questioning from various areas within the Police District Sopore. These individuals are undergoing thorough interrogation to uncover their links, financial conduits, and communication channels with cross-border handlers in Pakistan. The action is part of a sustained strategy to neutralise funding, logistics, and local facilitation provided to active terrorists.

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Several suspects have been booked and lodged in Sub-Jail under preventive detention laws, while security proceedings have been initiated against others to curb anti-national activities. Searches continue at multiple suspected locations across the district, with teams focusing on disrupting local support networks of terror outfits. Enhanced technical and human surveillance is now monitoring potential sleeper cells, sympathisers, and online propagandists radicalising youth or spreading extremist content.

Official sources described the operations as preventive, aimed at shielding the youth from extremist influence and ensuring peace is not disrupted by foreign handlers. The crackdown will persist in the coming days with targeted monitoring of terror associates’ networks.

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Meanwhile, in Handwara, police conducted coordinated searches at the houses and premises of relatives and associates of terror operatives active across the border, as well as individuals connected to banned organisations. The raids sought to trace any material support, links, or communication extended to these elements from within the region.

Both district-wide operations are being executed in close synergy with the Indian Army and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), fostering seamless coordination among security forces to counter terrorism and its support structures.

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Sopore and Handwara Police reaffirmed their commitment to uprooting the terror ecosystem, ensuring public safety, and maintaining lasting peace, security, and harmony. They urged the public to cooperate in these efforts to safeguard the region from anti-national influences.