JAMMU, SEPTEMBER 9 A 21-year-old girl and a recently released militant have been arrested in an anti-terror operation in Jammu and Poonch districts by the Jammu and Kashmir Police even as a manhunt has been launched for Hizbul Mujahideen commander Fayyaz Ahmed Talakh alias Tallah in Jammu. Tallah is a resident of Maliknag in Anantnag district and is reported to be hiding in the city. He was earlier arrested for involvement in militant violence four years ago and was released from jail recently.

The girl who has been arrested with one UBGL and eight rifle grenades in her possession has been identified as Nahida, a resident of Iqbal Nagar in Surankote, Poonch. She is reported to be a fourth semester student of Dogra Law College at Bari Brahmana. At the time of her arrest she was with her parents. Her father Altaf Hussain is head constable at Police Control Room in Jammu and mother Zebunisa a department head at the District Institute of Education and Training in Poonch. The arms consignment, which was found in a black leather bag with Nahida, was allegedly given to her by Hizbul Mujahideen militant Altaf Bhai of Gounthal in Surankote tehsil and was to be handed over to Tallah in Jammu.

Her car—a Maruti 800—was intercepted at a naka laid by a Special Operation Group (SOG) team led by DySP Mamta Sharma at Tanda near Akhnoor . A case was registered against her at the Akhnoor Police Station. Her parents were later set free as preliminary investigations found that they were not aware of the arms consignment.

Altaf, who was lodged in jail in connection with a blast at Surankote in 1999 and released only three months ago, has also been arrested from Gounthal. He was reported to be friendly with Nahida.

Nahida along with Altaf has been sent to a joint interrogation centre for detailed questioning to unearth the arms supply network for which the former appears to be working.