Chandigarh: Punjab Police’s State Special Operations Cell (SSOC) arrested a Jammu resident for his alleged connections to Pakistan-based terrorist Shahzad Bhatti, marking a significant blow to cross-border terror networks.
The arrested man has been identified as one Raman Kumar alias Golu — a 28-year-old daily wager from Jammu’s outskirts. This is a major success for Indian security forces involved anti-terrorist operation ahead of the Republic Day.
Announcing this, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said SSOC teams tracked Kumar’s movements across state lines, detaining him during a targeted operation in Mohali district late on Friday.
Preliminary interrogations revealed Kumar’s role as a logistics facilitator, handling funds and arms procurement for Bhatti’s syndicate, linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) offshoots. Bhatti is said to be a key operative based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). He has orchestrated multiple infiltrations and radicalization drives targeting Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab border areas.
Digital forensics from seized phones uncovered encrypted communications via apps like Telegram, plotting subversive activities including grenade attacks on security forces. Kumar was radicalized online two years ago and reportedly received handler directives from Bhatti for weapon smuggling via Punjab’s porous borders. Authorities recovered ₹3.5 lakh in hawala cash, two pistols, and terror propaganda materials from his hideout.
The arrest follows last month’s Reasi arrests of terror overground workers (OGWs), besides several others. Punjab DGP hailed it as a “major breakthrough,” crediting human intelligence and tech surveillance. Jammu & Kashmir Police are coordinating for deeper probes into local networks.
Kumar — who faces charges under UAPA, with NDPS angles for suspected narco-terror funding — has been sent to 10-day police remand.
