Srinagar: He was sent to Kashmir by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to carry out terror strikes, but ended up fulfilling a personal dream – getting a hair transplant.
He found life in Kashmir completely different from what he had been told in terrorist training camps and went for hairline restoration in Srinagar after learning about it from a shop owner, Mohammed Usman Jatt, alias ‘Chinese’, told interrogators, officials said on Sunday, as reported by The Tribune.
Jatt told interrogators about his entry into Jammu and Kashmir through the northern part of the valley as well as the places where he had spent time. The case is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
He was trained and sent to Jammu and Kashmir by the banned LeT to execute a series of attacks, the Lahore resident said.
Officials said that he was involved in terror activities in north and central Kashmir. Jatt, however, claimed during interrogation that his objectives shifted entirely after he witnessed the reality of daily life in Kashmir which was completely contrary to what they had been told during Lashkar training across the border.
He was arrested arrested early last month by the Srinagar Police alongside Abdullah, alias Abu Hureira, the longest-surviving Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist.
According to officials, the duo had been tasked with setting up sleeper terror bases outside Jammu and Kashmir. The case was subsequently handed over to the NIA due to its national and international ramifications.
He had been dealing with severe hair loss for years, an issue that had deeply impacted his self-esteem, the arrested terrorist told the sleuths. While he had previously heard about hair restoration procedures, he believed they were a distant luxury available only in the West.
During his stay in the upper hills of Srinagar, he was introduced to Pakistani terrorists Zargam and Abdullah alias ‘Abu Huriera’. He also spoke about the various people with whom he had stayed, which led the Srinagar police to bust the entire racket of Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of the terror group operating in North Kashmir and Srinagar city, officials said.
Jatt, while providing details about the OGW network, said Zargam took him to a shop and conveyed that the owner was a reliable person. During his conversation with the owner, he learned that the shop owner had undergone a hair transplant.
The terrorist continued to visit the shop owner and persuaded him to help him get a hair transplant. He was finally taken for the procedure within the city, the officials said, adding that at times he had to stay overnight in the clinic for the procedure.
Jatt, who had already tied up with ‘Abu Huriera’, took a passenger vehicle to Jammu and later a sleeper bus to Punjab on his way to Malerkotla, after the procedure was completed. There, he spent time watching Turkish shows and attempted to learn English, according to officials.
He also told his interrogators that he wanted to get an Aadhaar card, PAN card and eventually a passport to escape from India like Umar alias ‘Khargosh’ (rabbit), who managed to get a passport and has since fled to Indonesia, from where he is believed to have used another forged travel document and stationed himself somewhere in a Gulf country, the officials said.
Karachi-resident Umar had infiltrated into India after 2012 and fled using the forged passport procured from Jaipur in Rajasthan in 2024, the officials said.
