Law enforcement agencies in Jammu and Kashmir have intensified their crackdown by seizing properties of individuals linked to militancy, drug trafficking and other anti-social acts. This strategy is proving to be an effective deterrent in maintaining law and order in the region.
The latest operation in Kishtwar saw the attachment of properties belonging to 11 residents of Kishtwar in Jammu operating from across the Line of Control (LoC), following the earlier confiscation of assets linked to seven others.
Efforts are on to identify and seize properties associated with the remaining suspects out of a total of 36 individuals. The operation was carried out by the police’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) under the supervision of Senior Superintendent of Police Javaid Iqbal Mir.
Legal proceedings were initiated in the Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Doda, where Additional District and Sessions Judge Sudesh Sharma issued orders for the property attachments.
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This crackdown aligns with similar actions taken by the NIA and local police in other parts of Jammu and Kashmir. On December 24, 2024, the NIA attached four residential houses and seized cash in an alleged narco-terrorism case in Kupwara district. An NIA spokesperson stated that the immovable properties included a double-storey house of suspect Afaq Ahmad Wani, a single-storey house of Muneer Ahmad Pandey, the house of Saleem Andrabi, and the double-storeyed house of Islam-ul-Haq.
In another significant operation in May last year, police attached properties worth crores of rupees belonging to notorious gangster Mukesh Kumar alias Gesha and drug peddlers in the Jammu and Samba districts. Kumar, who had been evading arrest for an extended period, was the subject of a Public Safety Act (PSA) warrant issued by the District Magistrate of Jammu. His evasion tactics came to an end with the latest police action, which saw the attachment of his properties in the Akhnoor subdivision.
In a separate case, alleged drug peddlers Munish Kumar and his father Prem Kumar, residents of Serwad village in Katra tehsil, were involved in four cases of drug smuggling. Action was taken against them under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and their properties were also seized.
According to Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for the Jammu Zone, Anand Jain, the properties of 18 additional absconding individuals involved in criminal activities have also been identified, and the process for their attachment is underway. Jain said that such measures are crucial in cutting off financial resources used to fuel anti-social activities.
