'Merchant of death' and JeM mastermind meets his end in Kashmir

He was just four feet two inches tall and walked with a limp Noor Mohammed Tantray the JaisheMohammed commander who was gunned down today stood out in a crowd but his mental acuity more than made up for that disadvantage officials said Called merchant of death by a special court in Delhi Tantray was believed to be the brains behind several terror strikes including the attack on the BSF camp outside the Srinagar airport on October 3 and on state minister Naeem Akhtars cavalcade in Tral on September 21 this year The end came during the intervening night of December 25 and 26 at Samboora in Pulwama district of South Kashmir not far from his home in TralRepresentational ImageThe killing of the 47yearold JeM divisional commander who was out on parole is a significant blow to the terror groups operations in the Valley officials said We had missed him only by few minutes in the past and I was sure he would run out of luck soon as his height was his biggest disadvantage With each passing day the search narrowed a senior police official involved in the operations said on condition of anonymity Tantrays limp also made it difficult for him to disappear into a crowd and police officials were sure they would be able to isolate him After escaping from the Aripal encounter in which three JeM militants were killed at Tral in April this year Tantray had been on the radar of the Special Unit of the Jammu and Kashmir PoliceTheir efforts to track him down finally bore fruit on Christmas night when he was trapped in a house and could not escape His two other accomplices believed to be foreign militants managed to flee an official said Tantray who spent eight years in Tihar jail had intensified his activities since his release on parole in 2015 A close aide of Jaish commander Ghazi Baba who masterminded the 2001 attack on Parliament Tantray was arrested from Delhiiquests Sadar Bazar on August 31 2003 He was arrested along with four others and charged with conspiracy to carry out terror attacks in various parts of the national capitalThe five militants were arrested following an encounter in which two terrorists were killed Besides arms and ammunition police also recovered a sum of Rs 1920 lakh from Tantray Then special POTA Prevention of Terrorism Act judge R K Gauba words proved prophetic when Tantray emerged as the most wanted militant in the Kashmir Valley after his release from jail an official said He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2011 in the case and shifted to Srinagars Central Jail in 2015 before being released on parole His parole was extended by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court same yearWhile sentencing him along with others under the stringent antiterror law in 2011 the judge had said the challenge posed by terrorism had to be met headon by a multiprolonged strategy Indias war against terrorism is to be waged not only by security measures but also by all organs of the state including the judiciary which must share the responsibility of dealing with such elements with an iron hand he said Terming the five merchants of death the court had said the foot soldiers of forces inimical to India and bent upon sabotaging the peace and tranquility here besides posing a serious threat to its unity sovereignty and integrity have to be neutralisedThe merchants of death had to be locked away for the rest of their lives in order that they are suitably de fanged and blunted so as to be of no further use to the enemy the judge had said in his seven page order Tantrays terror graph validated the judges words said an official Tantray is believed to have provided logistical support to JeM militants who stormed the Police Lines in Pulwama in August this year Eight security personnel and three militants were killed in that attack He was allegedly involved in the JeM attack on the BSF camp outside the Srinagar International Airport on October 3 in which one BSF officer and three militants were killed Tantray was also found to be involved in the grenade attack on State PWD Minister Naeem Akhtars cavalcade in Tral on September 21Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go