SIA of J&K police secures Interpol Red Corner Notice against Imtiyaz Ahmad Kandoo of Hizbul Mujahideen

Srinagar: State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir police has secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) against designated Hizbul Mujahideen militant Imtiyaz Ahmad Kandoo in connection with a Tarzoo attack of 2013.

The SIA officials said that the notice will facilitate international law enforcement agencies in locating, detaining, and initiating legal proceedings for the extradition of the accused to India to face trial.

The case pertains to the ambush on 26th of April 2013 at Peer Mohalla, Hygam, Sopore in northern Kashmir where militants armed with automatic weapons attacked a police party, resulting in the killing of four J&K police personnel in one of the most serious strikes against security forces during that period. The case was initially registered at Tarzoo police station in Sopore, and it was transferred to SIA Kashmir in 2024 for a comprehensive investigation.


Following an extensive investigation involving collection and analysis of evidence, examination of witnesses, and reconstruction of the conspiracy, SIA officials in Kashmir completed the investigation, added more offences on the basis of fresh evidence and filed a comprehensive chargesheet before the competent trial court in July 2024 against six accused persons.

During the course of investigation and subsequent operations, two accused—Tariq Ahmad Mir of Kalamabad area of Handwara and Qayoom Najar of Batapora area of Sopore—were killed in the encounters with armed forces. The SIA officials informed that Javid Ahmad Mattoo of Sopore, Rouf Najar of Sopore, and Ahmadullah Malla of Dalal Mohalla, Srinagar have been arrested and are facing trial. The sixth and the main accused, Imtiyaz Ahmad Kandoo, is absconding and is believed to have exfiltrated to Pakistan.

The officials said that Kandoo has been an active member and commander of the proscribed outfit Hizbul Mujahideen since 2010. "Owing to his sustained involvement in terrorist activities, he was notified as a designated individual terrorist by Government of India in October, 2022," read the official SIA statement.

The SIA has said that their investigation conclusively established Kandoo’s active and main role in the Hygam attack and uncovered his involvement in a wider network of militant activities.

"Besides the present case, he is wanted in at least ten more terror-related cases involving terrorist attacks, targeted killings resulting in the deaths of more than 15 persons, arms and ammunition smuggling, and narco- terror financing. Despite sustained effort by law enforcement agencies, he had continued to evade arrest," read the SIA statement.

The SIA officials said that the successful issuance of the Interpol Red Corner Notice against Kandoo underscores the SIA's growing capability in conducting complex terror investigations, bringing long-pending cases to logical conclusion, pursuing fugitives across international jurisdictions, and leveraging global policing mechanisms to ensure that perpetrators of terrorism are held accountable.

"SIA Kashmir remains steadfast in its resolve to dismantle terrorist ecosystems, pursue absconding terrorists and their support networks, and ensure that those responsible for acts of terror are brought to justice through all available legal and international mechanisms," read the statement.