The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday attached eight properties belonging to two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives for allegedly being part of a conspiracy to open fire at a Jammu & Kashmir police party in Srinagar in 2018. The operatives are Mohammed Shafi Wani and Mohammed Tikka Khan.
The police team was escorting a terrorist, Naveed Jatt aka Abu Hanzla, to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital for a medical examination on February 6, 2018.
While five properties belong to Shafi Wani, three are of Tikka Khan, both residents of Singoo Narbal in Pulwama. The assets have been attached under Section 33 (1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), following a directive from the NIA Special Court in Jammu.
The assailants had succeeded in helping Hanzla, a terrorist from Pakistan, escape during the attack carried out at the instance of Pakistan-based LeT handlers. Among the alleged conspirators were Shafi Wani and Tikka Khan. Hanzla was later killed in an encounter with the security forces in 2018.
The attached immoveable properties of Shafi Wani and Tikka Khan, both identified as “overground workers” of LeT, include various land parcels. The residential house of Shafi Wani has also been attached.
“The two accused were arrested from their Pulwama homes on February 8, 2018, and were found to be in possession of weapons. They were chargesheeted on August 3, 2018, and are currently facing trial” under various penal provisions, including those under the UAPA, before a Jammu Special Court.
