The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday attached seven immovable properties linked to a prominent member of the banned Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) organization Sartaj Ahmed Mantoo.
The properties, including land spanning 19 Marlas & 84 Sq ft in Kisarigam, Pulwama district, were seized under Section 33 (1) of the UA (P) Act, 1967, following orders from the NIA Special Court, Jammu.
Mantoo was apprehended on January 31, 2020, with a significant cache of arms, ammunition, and explosives. Charged on July 27, 2020, he currently faces trial under various sections of the Arms Act, IPC, Explosive Substances Act, UA (P) Act, and Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933.
Investigations have revealed his involvement, along with five co-accused JeM members, in transporting newly infiltrated terrorists into the Kashmir valley.
JeM, established in 2000 by Maulana Masood Azhar, has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in India, particularly in J&K. The group was designated as a “Designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation” by UNSC Resolution 1267.
Moreover, in 2019, the UNSC designated JeM’s leader, Maulana Masood Azhar, as a “Global Terrorist.”
The move by the NIA comes on the heels of its attachment of six immovable properties associated with another senior JeM militant in Kashmir, further intensifying its crackdown on terrorist operatives in the region.
