Srinagar, Sep 8 (IANS) Sleuths of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday started searches at 22 locations in five states including the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The NIA conducted searches in Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh apart from J&K early in the morning.

Officials said that the NIA has started searches at Budgam, Kulgam, Pattan, Pulwama and Kangan areas of the Valley today morning.

These searches are being carried out with the assistance of the local police and the CRPF, officials added.

The NIA searches are connected with the terror funding case being investigated by the agency.

Some high profile terror cases including those involving terror funding and killings of innocent civilians are being investigated by the NIA.

The killing of 9 pilgrims and injuries to several others by terrorists in Reasi district of Jammu division on June 9, 2024 is also being investigated by the NIA and some people harbouring the terrorists responsible for the Reasi attack had been arrested.

The investigation of the terror attack carried out by Pakistan backed LeT terrorists on April 22 in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam was also handed over to the NIA.

Twenty six people including 25 tourists and a local Pony owner were killed in the Baisaran meadow attack.

Three Pakistani terrorists, Suleman, Jibran and Hamza Afghani were killed by the joint forces on July 28, 2025.

These three LeT terrorists were killed in the foothills of Mahadev Peak in the higher reaches of Dachigam national park in Harwan area of Srinagar district.

The Army called the operation against these three terrorist as ‘Operation Mahadev’ after they were identified as the terrorists, who had carried out the Baisaran terror attack.

These three Pahalgam terrorists who were killed during ‘Operation Mahadev’ were identified and tracked with the help of photographs recovered from a mobile phone seized by the security forces after an encounter in south Kashmir in 2024, officials confirmed after the operation.

–IANS

sq/rad