Jaipur Nikkar, Kashmir Trail: How LeT’s ‘Khargosh’ escaped India using fake passports

a top agent Lashkar-e-TaibaUmer Harris, alias “Khargosh” (Rabbit), who originated from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, is believed to be in Saudi Arabia after fleeing India using a forged passport, officials told the Press Trust of India on Sunday. The document was released under the name “Sajjad”, with Harris posing as a resident of Rajasthan. The investigation into Lashkar-e-Taiba’s terror module is being led by Srinagar police, who have shared details with central agencies, raising concerns about systemic vulnerabilities that allow for such abuse, officials said.The case was registered by the Jammu and Kashmir Police earlier this month and may be handed over to the police. National Bureau of Investigation (National Intelligence Service). Meanwhile, officials told PTI that key details have been shared with the state police force so that prompt action can be taken and critical loopholes filled.Contrary to previous reports linking Umer Haris to Karachi, investigators have now determined that he is from Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.He reportedly joined Lashkar-e-Taiba to evade police operations and faced multiple arson cases in Karachi before being pushed into Jammu and Kashmir by the terror group in 2012.Harris earned the nickname “Halgosh” for his ability to move quickly and evade security dragnets. According to investigators, after infiltrating into the Kashmir Valley from the north, he lived in Bandipora and Srinagar and eventually married the daughter of an Overground Workers (OGW) of Lashkar-e-Taiba. The nikah was carried out in Jaipur under his fake identity ‘Sajjad’.Officials said the revelation that the marriage documents later became key to supporting his application for an Indian passport raised serious questions about a lapse in the verification system. The dismantling of the inter-state module by the Srinagar police has exposed systemic flaws, particularly in how passports are issued in Rajasthan despite stringent checks. Also read: Not a card but a code, the QR code of identity in horror-scarred PahalgamInvestigators believe Harris fled to Indonesia and later moved to Saudi Arabia between 2024 and 2025 using another forged travel document. Efforts are underway through diplomatic channels to secure his deportation.New details have emerged after Srinagar police dismantled what officials said was an “entrenched” inter-state Lashkar-e-Taiba module and arrested five operatives, including Pakistani terrorist Abu Hureira, who had been on the run for 16 years and had established bases outside Jammu and Kashmir.The arrests of Abdullah and another Pakistani national, Usman Qubaib, mark a major breakthrough six months after a “white collar” terror group linked to Al Farah University in Faridabad was dismantled.During interrogation, Abdullah revealed details of his and Harris’ activities across India, particularly in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. This included a Jaipur marriage in which the bride’s father was detained on suspicion of knowing Harris’ true identity, officials said.The operation, launched on March 31 and closely monitored by Deputy Attorney General Nalin Prabhat, also shed light on Lashkar-e-Taiba’s funding and financial network. Investigators said the group relied heavily on forged identities and documents to build a multi-state network.Three Srinagar residents, Mohammad Najib Butt, Adil Rashid Butt and Ghulam Mohammad Mir alias Mom, were arrested and accused of providing shelter, food and logistical support. The network began to unravel with the arrest of Naqeeb Bhat in Pandach district, where police recovered a pistol and incriminating material.During interrogation, Butt admitted his links to Lashkar-e-Taiba, saying he purchased weapons from another associate, Adil Rashid of Zakula, and facilitated support for foreign terrorists. His revelations led police to Mir and Rashid Butt, both active agents, and helped uncover multiple hideouts in forested areas around Srinagar.Officially, the two pakistani terrorist Classified as “A+” militants, the militants infiltrated into India about 16 years ago and have been active in the Kashmir Valley for years while “commanding” about 40 foreign terrorists, most of whom have been eliminated.The seizure comes nearly six months after the “Al Falah module” came to light in November 2025, when a Srinagar police investigation uncovered a network of radicalized professionals, many of them doctors.One of the defendants is Umer-un Nabi of Farah University, who was behind the explosion of an explosives-laden car outside the Red Fort on November 10, killing more than a dozen people. Officials said he had previously tried unsuccessfully to join the terrorist group in 2016 and 2018.