Srinagar, May 2 (IANS) Police in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district arrested a terror associate and recovered arms/ammunition and explosive material from him.

A police statement said on Saturday that the security forces apprehended a terrorist associate in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district and recovered arms/ammunition and explosives from his possession.

Police said the arrest was made during a joint operation by the Army’s 44 Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF’s 183 Battalion and Pulwama Police in the Rajpora area.

The accused has been identified as Mohd Umar Malik, a resident of Kachipora Qasbayar in Pulwama district.

Search of the suspect led to the recovery of a cache of arms and ammunition, including a pistol, a magazine, two live rounds and two hand grenades.

A case has been registered at Rajpora Police Station under relevant provisions of the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and further investigation is underway, a police officer said.

Jammu and Kashmir Police and the security forces have been carrying out aggressive operations against terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers.

The revised strategy is aimed at targeting the entire support system of terrorism in the union territory rather than focusing just on the gun-wielding terrorist.

In addition to this, drug smugglers, drug peddlers and those involved in the hawala money racket are also on the scanner of the security forces. It is believed that funds generated through these unlawful activities are finally used to sustain terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

Police and the security forces carry out anti-terrorist operations in the hinterland. These operations are carried out by the army on the line of control (LoC) and on the international border (IB) by the Border Security Force (BSF).

Jammu and Kashmir has 740-kms long LoC and 240-km long international border.

–IANS

sq/uk