NEW DELHI: Security agencies have intensified their manhunt for Mohammad Lateef Bhat, one of four active terrorists featured on a recently released wanted poster by Jammu and Kashmir Police, following his identification as a suspect in Wednesday’s attack on CRPF personnel in Kulgam.Bhat, a resident of Khrewan Chadder in Kulgam, is considered one of the few remaining local terrorists active in the valley. He is affiliated with the Kashmir Revolutionary Army (KRA), a proxy group floated by Pak-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to conceal its direct involvement.Operating across South Kashmir, particularly in the Kulgam, Shopian, and Anantnag districts, Bhat is known to exercise influence over local over ground worker (OGW) networks.Investigating agencies suspect Bhat’s involvement in several recent terror strikes in the region. These include the July 22 fatal shooting of J&K Police Head Constable Aashiq Hussain in Anantnag and the July 31 targeted killing of two migrant workers from Chhattisgarh, Deepak and Bhupendra, in Kulgam.Security forces noted that Bhat operates differently from standard modules. “Known to be possessing an AK-47, he executes swift strikes either alone or in small groups before immediately blending into the local population,” said a source. In July 2026, Bhat was trapped alongside top LeT commander Zakir Ganie during a security force siege on a house in Shopian. While Ganie was neutralised in the encounter, Bhat is learnt to have managed to break through the cordon and escape, evading a massive follow-up search operation.
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While law enforcement agencies state that the other three individuals listed on the wanted poster— Bilal Ahmad Mir, Abid Qayoom Lone, and Mohammad Umar Mir — are currently operating from across the border in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK), Bhat remains the sole local operative actively grounded in South Kashmir.Authorities had last week issued a public appeal for information on the whereabouts of the four suspects, promising strict confidentiality and a cash reward. Inputs can be shared directly with security agencies through designated helplines, they had said.
