Lucknow: On July 22, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted a raid at the residence of an absconding accused, identified as Riaz Ahmed, alias Hazari, in connection with the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terror conspiracy case. Riaz Ahmed is an active militant and serves as the district deputy commander of HM. The raid resulted in the seizure of a mobile phone, which is currently under analysis.

According to available information, Riaz Ahmed is a resident of Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, and the NIA has announced a cash reward of Rs 3 lakh for any leads on his whereabouts.

The case in question was initially registered by Uttar Pradesh's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on September 12, 2018. It was later re-registered by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on September 24, 2018. The investigation pertains to a criminal conspiracy planned by HM cadres, including Kamruk Zaman and others, with intentions to carry out terror attacks at various locations in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of India.

Subsequently, on March 11, 2019, two of the accused, Kamrun and Osama Bin Javed, were charged in Lucknow's NIA Special Court under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Osama Bin Javed was killed in a encounter with security forces on September 28, 2019.

Following these developments, a supplementary chargesheet was filed in May 2021 against the arrested accused, Nisar Ahmad Sheikh and Nishad Ahmad Butt, who are reportedly residents of Jammu and Kashmir. Additionally, on November 25, 2022, another supplementary chargesheet was filed against the arrested accused, Danish Naseer.

Investigations have revealed that Kamruj Zaman was radicalized by Osama Bin Javed, who trained him and others for nine months in physical and weapon-handling skills as part of HM cadres. Along with Riaz Ahmed, another co-accused, Mohammad Amin alias Jahangir Saroori, who is an active militant and district commander of HM, was involved in recruiting and training Kamruj Zaman and Osama Bin Javed in the forests of Kishtwar district.

After completing their training, Kamruj was tasked with setting up bases and hideouts and selecting targets in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and other parts of India for terrorist activities. He apparently traveled to Kanpur, where he conducted reconnaissance of several potential targets.

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