A man was injured as Lashkar-e-Islam, a new terror outfit, tried to destroy an Airtel tower at Habba Kadal in Old Srinagar by firing a rifle grenade at it. This was not the first destructive attempt made by the outfit – but it was certainly the first in the area; its previous activities had been restricted to North Kashmir.
While the police are currently in the process of investigating Lashkar-e-Islam and its motive behind the act, what we can say is that the outfit could be a shadow group of Lashkar-e-Taiba or even Hizbul Mujahideen.
– Abdul Qayoom, Superintendent of Police, Sopore, Kashmir
The outfit came to light when a Bhartiya Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) employee in Sopore was shot dead for ignoring threats issued by Lashkar-e-Islam. The organisation had been circulating pamphlets telling people to dismantle telecom towers or be killed.
A couple of days ago, on May 31, a person had been arrested for suspected involvement with the group – but that did not deter the outfit from carrying out the attack on Monday.
Why Telecom Towers?
Lashkar-e-Islam is targeting telecom towers to evade tracking as cell phones can be tracked without a phone call, leaving the militants at a loss.
They have destroyed several towers in North Kashmir, making mobile connectivity a major problem.
On of the threat posters sent out by the organisation read:
“Due to these cellphone companies, our commanders and militant brothers have been arrested or killed. We warn all the people associated with the telecom companies to stop working for them and tower site owners to dismantle the towers. We also warn shopkeepers who recharge cell phones to stop it. If not, they will be killed.”
The Effect of Threats
Even though K Rajendran, Director General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir, had declared that network connectivity would be back after a person suspected in the telecom tower sabotage was arrested, connectivity is yet to return.
Close to 50 towers were destroyed after the threatening posters were circulated. Aircel, Airtel, Idea, Vodafone and Reliance are some of the affected network providers.
Directly after the attack on Monday, several people were seen shutting shop in panic. Some did try to restore mobile connectivity though.
(With inputs from Reuters, ANI, TOI, The Indian Panaroma, Daily Excelsior)
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