J&K Police arrests an alleged OGW for aiding Pahalgam Terror Attack

Posted 25 Sep 2025

2 min read

Article Summary

The Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested an alleged OGW for supporting terrorists in the Pahalgam attack, highlighting OGWs' roles in logistics, recruitment, funding, and radicalization efforts.

Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested an alleged Over Ground worker (OGW) for providing “logistical support” to the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack.

About OGWs

OGWs are people who provide logistic support to militants and assist them in their surreptitious movement.
Role played by OGWs for terrorist organizations
- Recruitment: Recruiting local youth for joining terrorist ranks, including forced recruitments.
- Funding: Through illegal trade, counterfeit currency, tax evasion, Hawala transactions, etc.
- Coordination with other stakeholders: Such as secessionist leaders, organised crime networks, etc.
- Legitimization: Through propaganda, radicalization, exploitation of local grievances, etc.
Measures taken to neutralize influence of OGWs
- Legal measure: Union Ministry of Home Affairs notified ‘Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir (JeI) as an unlawful association under Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.
  - JeI members are often alleged to be working as Over Ground Workers (OGWs).
- Others: Rehabilitating orphans and women to ensure Social welfare [e.g., Operation Sadbhavana (Goodwill)], improve Intelligence Infrastructure to keep track of radicalization attempts, Fast track courts for speedy conviction of terrorists and OGWs, etc.

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967

Provides for effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of individuals and associations, and for dealing with terrorist activities.
UAP (Amendment) Act, 2019 empowered the government to designate individuals as terrorists, in addition to organizations.
- It also added International Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (2005) to define terrorist acts.