The State Investigation Agency (SIA) Sunday conducted raids at multiple locations in South Kashmir in a case related to sharing of “sensitive and strategic information about security forces and vital installations” through messaging apps, the agency has said. The investigating agency that is an equivalent of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Jammu and Kashmir has detained several persons and claimed to have seized incriminating material. "J&K police are keeping a surveillance on the terror associates and over ground workers (OGW) working in Kashmir," SIA said in an official release. "Technical intelligence indicated that a host of sleeper cells in Kashmir were in direct contact with their handlers based in Pakistan and were involved in conveying sensitive and strategic information about security forces and vital installations via messaging apps including but not limited to WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and so on.” The SIA was set up in 2021 as the nodal agency for “coordinating with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other central agencies and shall take such other measures as may be necessary for speedy and effective investigation and prosecution of terrorism related cases”. On Sunday morning, the investigating agency raided 20 different locations in four districts of south Kashmir - Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag - and conducted searches in a case registered under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. "These terror associates were also involved in online radical propaganda on the behest of terrorist commanders of Lashkar-e- Taiba and Jaish-e- Muhammad, impinging upon the national security and integrity," the SIA said. "Preliminary investigation has clearly brought out that these entities are actively engaged in terrorist conspiracy, propagating and furthering anti-India narratives aimed not only at challenging the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India but also at inciting disaffection, public disorder, and communal hatred". The investigating agency said that it has recovered "substantial incriminating materials” during the raids and detained several persons for further questioning.
