350 kg explosives haul in India: J&K doctor’s arrest leads police to massive terror linked cache near Delhi

In one of the largest explosives recoveries near the national capital in recent years, Jammu and Kashmir Police have seized 350kg of suspected ammonium nitrate, an assault rifle and other arms from Faridabad in Haryana.

The discovery, made in coordination with Haryana Police, came after the arrest of two Kashmiri doctors whose alleged links to Jaish-e-Mohammed propaganda triggered a wider investigation.

According to police sources, the breakthrough followed the arrest of Dr Adil Ahmad Rather from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, last week. Rather, formerly employed at Government Medical College, Anantnag, was identified through CCTV footage as the person putting up posters supporting Jaish-e-Mohammed in Srinagar on October 27. The posters had prompted Srinagar Police to register a case, and the footage led investigators to track him to Saharanpur, NDTV reported.

During questioning, Rather disclosed that explosives and weapons had been stored with another doctor, Mujammil Shakeel, a resident of Pulwama working at Al Falah Hospital in Faridabad. Shakeel was subsequently arrested.

A joint police team raided the Faridabad location and recovered 350 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate, 20 timers, a pistol, three magazines, a walkie-talkie set and an assault rifle. Faridabad Police Commissioner Satender Kumar Gupta confirmed the recoveries and said the material appeared to be linked to IED-making.

Earlier, J&K Police had recovered an AK-47 rifle and ammunition from Rather’s locker at the Anantnag medical college. He has been charged under the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Officials say the arrests point to a worrying trend of highly educated professionals being recruited into terror-linked networks. Investigators are now trying to determine the intended use of the massive explosives cache and how such a large quantity of material was transported into the NCR without detection.

Meanwhile, in a separate series of operations, Kulgam Police have intensified action against Overground Workers (OGWs) and individuals linked to terror networks.

Police have reiterated their zero-tolerance policy toward terror support systems, saying the coordinated crackdown will continue as investigators piece together the larger network behind the Faridabad explosives haul.

- with inputs from ANI