The NIA on Tuesday attached properties of two key Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives who allegedly helped Pakistani terrorist Naveed Jatt escape from police custody from a Srinagar hospital in 2018 by attacking a police team.

In a statement, the agency said, “Going full throttle against terrorist organisations and operatives operating in Kashmir, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) attached the properties of two key Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives in the 2018 case relating to the forcible release of a terrorist through a fatal attack on a police party at a Srinagar hospital.” It said eight properties — five belonging to Mohd Shafi Wani and three to Mohd Tikka Khan, both residents of Singoo Narbal in Pulwama — have been attached under Section 33 (1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act following recent orders from the NIA Special Court, Jammu.

The case involved the killing of two personnel of the Jammu and Kashmir Police in firing on a police party escorting LeT terrorist Jatt alias Abu Hanzla to SMHS Hospital, Srinagar, for a medical examination on February 6, 2018.

The NIA said Jatt, a terrorist of Pakistani origin, was forcibly released in the attack, which was carried out by the two accused, along with others, on orders from their Pakistan-based LeT commanders. Jatt was killed in an encounter with security forces later in 2018.

Jatt was believed to have been behind the killing of journalist Shujaat Bukhari outside his office at Residency Road in June 2018.

“The attached immovable properties of Mohd Shafi Wani and Mohd Tikka Khan, both identified as overground workers of the LeT, include various plots of land. The residential house of Shafi has also been attached,” the agency said.

The two accused were arrested from their Pulwama homes on February 8, 2018, and were also found to be in the possession of weapons. They were charge-sheeted on August 3, 2018, and are currently facing trial before the NIA Special Court in Jammu under several legal provisions, it added.

Punjab on Tuesday reported 1,776 stubble-burning incidents, taking the total number of farm fires to 28,117 while air quality indices in Haryana and the border state were in ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories.

The fresh figure indicated that the crop residue burning cases in the state have started rising again.

The state had reported 639 such cases on November 9, six on November 10, 104 on November 11, 987 on November 12 and 1,624 on November 13.

Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in Delhi in October and November.

Of the total farm fires reported on Tuesday, Bathinda saw maximum such cases at 258, followed by 253 in Barnala, 188 in Sangrur, 181 in Moga, 176 in Ferozepur and 149 each in Fazilka and Faridkot, according to Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data.

On the same day in 2021 and 2022, the state had seen 2,541 and four fires respectively.

Out of a total 28,117 farm fires recorded from September 15 till November 14, Sangrur recorded the maximum stubble burning cases of 4,961, followed by 2,554 in Ferozepur, 2,063 in Mansa, 2,061 in Bathinda and 1,916 in Tarn Taran.

Meanwhile, Haryana’s Gurugram reported an air quality index (AQI) of 383, followed by 381 in Faridabad, 356 in Hisar, 340 in Narnaul, 334 in Rohtak, 321 in Kaithal, 313 in Fatehabad, 300 in Panipat, 299 in Fatehabad, 273 in Sonipat and 263 in Bhiwani.

In Punjab, Bathinda reported AQI at 391, followed by 251 in Patiala, 240 in Ludhiana, 231 in Jalandhar, 196 in Mandi Gobindgarh, 181 in Amritsar, 149 in Rupnagar and 109 in Khanna.

the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, saw an AQI of 167.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

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