‘Toy’ found by J&K boy in garbage dump near NIA office identified as Chinese-made rifle telecope

The telescope was found lying in a piece of land with wild growth between the NIA office and the J&K Police’s Security Headquarters.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police seized the telescope of an assault rifle from an area in Jammu near the National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters on Sunday.

According to reports, the telescope, bearing Chinese markings and used as an attachment to sniper and assault rifles, was found lying in a piece of land with wild growth between the NIA office and the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Security Headquarters.

The battalion headquarters of the CRPF and the Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) are also located close to the spot.

A report by NDTV stated that a six-year-old boy was seen playing with the scope in Jammu region's Asrarabad, after which officials asked his parents about it. The family said the boy found it in a nearby garbage dump.

A 24-year-old man has been detained in Samba district in connection with the recovery of the scope, according to PTI.

The J&K police and other security forces have been jointly conducting search operations from areas near the international border to the mountains along the Line of Control to rule out any possibility of infiltration.

According to News18, the intensified searches were launched after intelligence inputs suggested that terror groups could attempt to infiltrate the region amid a spike in militant activity at launch pads across the border, particularly opposite Jammu, Samba, Kathua and Rajouri districts.

Last month, a senior Border Security Force (BSF) officer had said that Pakistan had reactivated several terror launch pads across from Jammu province, nearly seven months after many of them were damaged during India’s Operation Sindoor.

According to the officer, around 72 launch pads have become active, including 12 in the Sialkot and Zafarwal sectors near the international border and about 60 across the Line of Control.

According to NDTV, in a separate incident, the police took an individual identified as Tanvir Ahmad into custody from Samba district, reportedly after a "Pakistani" phone number was seen on his mobile.

Ahmad is originally a resident of south Kashmir's Anantnag and is currently living in Samba, officials told NDTV.