The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday mounted a major operation deep inside the thickly wooded Mattan forest belt of Anantnag district in south Kashmir, intensifying its investigation into the audacious November 10 low-intensity explosion that rocked the high-security zone near Delhi’s historic Red Fort.

Accompanied by heavily armed Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF contingents, NIA sleuths brought along two key arrested suspects, Dr Adeel Rather and Jasir Bilal Wani, both identified as educated operatives of a previously undetected “white collar” terror module, to physically guide investigators to hidden shelters used by the network.

According to agency sources, the accused had confessed during sustained interrogation that the remote Mattan forest served as a critical rear base where weapons, explosives, coded communications and planning meetings were concealed away from regular security sweeps.

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Search teams are combing the rugged terrain for buried caches, discarded electronic devices, financial records, incriminating documents and any residual explosive material that could establish direct links between the Kashmir hideouts and the carefully timed blast executed in the heart of the national capital.

The operation continues under tight security as authorities remain hopeful that recoveries from these jungle hideouts will unravel the full command chain and expose any remaining sleeper cells still active in the terror module behind the Red Fort attack.

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