The investigation by Jammu and Kashmir Police into a Jaish-e-Muhammed terror network spread across several states began with something as simple as a few posters. What started as routine checking ended with nine arrests and the seizure of over 2,900 kilograms of explosives, bomb-making materials, and two AK-series rifles.

As reported by TOI, the first clue appeared in mid-October when Jaish posters threatening attacks on security forces surfaced secretly in Nowgam, Srinagar. These posters, once common before 2019, had not been seen in years, which immediately drew the attention of Srinagar SSP G V Sundeep Chakravarthy. He had earlier led the Jammu and Kashmir Police team in Operation Mahadev, which neutralised three attackers in Pahalgam.

Wanting to find out who was behind the posters, Chakravarthy ordered a detailed investigation. CCTV footage soon revealed three overground workers with a history of stone-pelting. Their arrest opened up a chain of discoveries that exposed a much larger terror network.

The questioning of these workers led the police to Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a cleric from Shopian. Over nearly three weeks of interrogation, Irfan revealed how a Jaish-e-Muhammed network was operating across Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Among those later arrested were Dr Muzammil Ganaie, a Pulwama native working at Al-Falah University in Faridabad, Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather from Qazigund, who was arrested in Saharanpur, and Dr Shaheen Sayeed from Lucknow, who was reportedly Muzammil’s girlfriend. Another doctor, Dr Umar from Pulwama, who was on the run turned out to be Delhi blast perpetrator.

Along with the three workers who had put up the posters, police also arrested Hafiz Mohd Ishtiyak, a cleric from Mewat who managed logistics in Faridabad, and Maulvi Irfan Ahmad along with his associate from Ganderbal, Zameer Ahmad Ahanger alias Mutlasha, who helped the police reach Muzammil.

During searches, the police found a mobile phone at Irfan’s home that contained a Telegram channel linked to Pakistan-based Jaish terrorist Umar bin Khattab, confirming Irfan’s direct contact with the group, ToI reported.

Investigators discovered that Mutlasha was part of a radical pan-India group called Farzandan-e-Darul-Uloom-Deoband. During questioning, Irfan admitted that he had once seen an AK-47 rifle at the home of a doctor he had influenced, who was later confirmed by Mutlasha as Dr Muzammil Ganaie. Muzammil was traced to Al-Falah University, where he worked with Dr Adeel and Dr Umar.

While questioning continues to determine the group’s exact plans, investigators believe they were preparing for attacks in India’s heartland, possibly in Delhi because of its closeness to Faridabad.

“The idea was to use the cover of being medical professionals to escape suspicion. Given the massive quantity of explosives and other bomb-making material, it seems they were collected over two years,” an officer connected with the probe told TOI.

The arrests mark one of the biggest crackdowns on Jaish sleeper cells in recent years. What began with a few posters on the streets of Srinagar ended up exposing a deep and dangerous terror plot that stretched from Kashmir to the outskirts of the national capital.