Jammu/Srinagar, June 19 (IANS) Two persons were arrested in J&K’s Kishtwar district on Friday for aiding terrorists, while 3 others were detained in Shopian district after the recovery of arms and ammunition, police said.

A Forest Department employee and another person have been arrested in Kishtwar for providing support to terrorists, police said.

“The arrests were made during the investigation of a case registered at Police Station Kishtwar under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and Arms Act. The accused have been identified as Tariq Ahmed Ginoo, a government employee in the Forest Department and Mohammad Iqbal, both residents of the Tander area of Dachhan in Kishtwar,” a police official said, adding that both were involved in facilitating and providing support to local terrorists.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Kishtwar, Naresh Singh, said the arrests were made after a detailed investigation and that efforts are underway to identify and apprehend other individuals linked to the network.

He said the investigation is ongoing and all those found involved will be dealt with strictly as per the law.

In another incident, security forces have detained three persons in south Kashmir’s Shopian district and recovered explosives and incriminating material during a search operation.

A senior police officer said that, acting on specific intelligence inputs, police conducted an operation in the Pudsoo area of Shopian and detained three residents of Begam village.

During the operation, two grenades, four Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) posters, 2.5 kilograms of explosive material, and four mobile phones were also recovered from their possession.

SSP, Shopian, Mushtaq Ahmad Choudhary said the recovered material has been seized, with forensic and technical examination underway.

The three are being questioned after an FIR was registered in the incident, the SSP added.

IANS