New Delhi/Srinagar: Umer Harris alias “Khargosh” (rabbit), a top operative of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has fled to Saudi Arabia from India, using a forged passport, authorities have come to know.
The passport was issued under the name “Sajjad”, with Harris posing as a resident of Rajasthan, authorities told PTI on Sunday.
The Srinagar Police, which is carrying out the probe into the LeT terror module, shared details with central agencies, raising concerns over systemic loopholes that enabled this to happen, officials said.
The case is likely to ba handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Meanwhile, key details have already been shared with state police forces to enable swift action and plug critical gaps.
Harris hails from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan and joined the LeT to evade police action, with multiple arson cases pending against him in Karachi. In 2012, he was pushed into Jammu and Kashmir by the terror outfit.
Investigators said that Harris earned the alias “Khargosh” for his ability to move swiftly and evade the security dragnet. After infiltrating the Kashmir Valley from the northern side, he lived across Bandipora and Srinagar, eventually marrying the daughter of an LeT Over Ground Worker (OGW). The nikah was conducted in Jaipur under his assumed identity, “Sajjad”, as reported by The Times of India.
The marriage documents later became crucial in supporting his application for an Indian passport, a revelation that has raised serious questions about lapses in verification systems. The unravelling of the inter-state module by the Srinagar Police has exposed systemic loopholes, particularly how a passport could be issued in Rajasthan despite established checks.
Harris is said to have fled to Indonesia and later moved to Saudi Arabia between 2024 and 2025 using another forged travel document. Efforts are now underway to secure his deportation through diplomatic channels.
Fresh details about Harris surfaced after the Srinagar Police busted what officials described as a “deep-rooted” inter-state LeT module, arresting five operatives, including Pakistani terrorist Abdullah alias Abu Hureira, who had been on the run for 16 years and established bases outside Jammu and Kashmir.
Abdullah’s arrest, along with that of another Pakistani national, Usman alias Khubaib, marks a major breakthrough, coming six months after the dismantling of a “white-collar” terror cell linked to Faridabad’s Al Falah University.
Abdullah revealed details of his and Harris’ movements across India, particularly in Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, during interrogation. This included the Jaipur marriage, after which the bride’s father was detained for allegedly being aware of Harris’ true identity, officials said.
The operation, launched on March 31 and closely monitored by Jammu and Kashmir DGP Nalin Prabhat, has also shed light on the funding and financial networks of LeT. Investigators say the group relied heavily on forged identities and documents to build a multi-state network.
The two Pakistani terrorists are categorised as ‘A+’ militants and had infiltrated India around 16 years ago, remaining active across the Kashmir Valley while “commanding” around 40 foreign terrorists over the years, most of whom have since been neutralised, officials said.
