The Jammu and Kashmir Police is on the verge of exposing a well-entrenched ‘sleeper cell’ of radicalised doctors allegedly involved in promoting or supporting terrorist outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT).
The first breakthrough was achieved by the police with the arrest of 31-year-old Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather, working at a private hospital in UP’s Saharanpur. He hailed from the Qazigund area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The police teams tracked him with the help of CCTV footage, where he was seen pasting posters supporting the banned terror outfit, JeM.
During an ongoing investigation in the case, police teams have so far recovered an AK-47 rifle from the personal locker of Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather, at Government Medical College (GMC), Anantnag, on Saturday. He was associated with the hospital till October 24, 2024.
Later, he moved to Saharanpur, where he was working as a medicine specialist. Before starting work in a reputed private hospital, Dr Adeel also worked for some time in a hospital located on Delhi Road. Dr Adeel married a fellow doctor barely weeks ago, before he was picked up by the police from Saharanpur.
According to police officers investigating the crucial leads in the case, another doctor has been detained to carry out further investigations and unmask the members of the ‘sleeper cell’ active in the valley. At ground zero, an interrogation is going on to ascertain the modus operandi of these doctors and identify their handlers, including those operating from across the border.
Srinagar police is yet to make an official statement pending ongoing investigations in the case. A case has been registered under Sections 7/25 of the Arms Act and Sections 13, 28, 38, and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
