New Delhi: The NIA's interrogation of a detainee accused of attacking a bus carrying pilgrims in Reasi, Jammu and Kashmir, last month has pointed to the role of Pakistan-based perpetrators of banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba , officials said Tuesday.
Nine people were killed and 41 injured on June 9 when terrorists opened fire on a 53-seater bus heading from the Shiv Khori temple to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, causing it to veer off the road and fall. to a deep gorge in Reasi.
NIA officials said at least three terrorists could have been involved in the bus attack. Interrogation of Hakam Khan alias Hakin Din revealed that he provided shelter, logistics and food to the terrorists, they said.
Khan also helped the terrorists conduct reconnaissance of the area and even accompanied them, the officials said, adding that the terrorists involved in the attack stayed with Khan at least three times since June 1.
Based on the details provided by Khan, the NIA on June 30 raided five locations linked to hybrid terrorists and their surface workers.
Khan's interrogation has also pointed towards the role of two Pakistan-based LeT commanders - Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt and Abu Qatal alias Qatal Sindhi - who could have acted as handlers of the attackers, the official said.
This aspect is being further verified, the official added.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the investigation into the case on June 15 on the orders of the Union Home Ministry.
LeT commanders Jutt and Qatal have also been named in a charge sheet filed this year by the NIA in connection with its investigation related to the attack on civilians in J-K's Rajouri district in 2023.
Seven people belonging to the minority community were killed and several others injured when terrorists attacked Dhangri village in Rajouri on January 1, 2023. While five civilians were killed in terrorist firing, two lost their lives in an explosive device explosion. improvised explosive the next day.
The NIA said it was yet to ascertain any common angle in the recent terror attacks carried out in Jammu and Kashmir.
The probe agency also decided to register a case to probe last year's terror attack on an army convoy in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir, which left five people dead.
The investigation will seek to determine any "common angle" between last year's attack and the recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said, adding that the involvement of Pakistan-based perpetrators in the case cannot be ruled out.
Five army personnel lost their lives and another was seriously injured after his vehicle caught fire following a terror attack on April 20, 2023 in Bhata Dhurian area of Poonch district.
The NIA on Tuesday also sent a team of its officers to assist the Jammu and Kashmir police in their investigation into the terror attack on an army convoy in Kathua that occurred on Monday.
Five army personnel, including a junior officer, were killed and several others injured when a group of heavily armed terrorists ambushed a patrol on the rugged Machedi-Kindli-Malhar mountain road near Badnota village in Lohai Malhar, approximately 150 kilometers. from Kathua district headquarters.
This was the fifth terror attack in the Jammu region in a month.
Nine people were killed and 41 injured on June 9 when terrorists opened fire on a 53-seater bus heading from the Shiv Khori temple to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, causing it to veer off the road and fall. to a deep gorge in Reasi.
NIA officials said at least three terrorists could have been involved in the bus attack. Interrogation of Hakam Khan alias Hakin Din revealed that he provided shelter, logistics and food to the terrorists, they said.
Khan also helped the terrorists conduct reconnaissance of the area and even accompanied them, the officials said, adding that the terrorists involved in the attack stayed with Khan at least three times since June 1.
Based on the details provided by Khan, the NIA on June 30 raided five locations linked to hybrid terrorists and their surface workers.
Khan's interrogation has also pointed towards the role of two Pakistan-based LeT commanders - Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt and Abu Qatal alias Qatal Sindhi - who could have acted as handlers of the attackers, the official said.
This aspect is being further verified, the official added.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the investigation into the case on June 15 on the orders of the Union Home Ministry.
LeT commanders Jutt and Qatal have also been named in a charge sheet filed this year by the NIA in connection with its investigation related to the attack on civilians in J-K's Rajouri district in 2023.
Seven people belonging to the minority community were killed and several others injured when terrorists attacked Dhangri village in Rajouri on January 1, 2023. While five civilians were killed in terrorist firing, two lost their lives in an explosive device explosion. improvised explosive the next day.
The NIA said it was yet to ascertain any common angle in the recent terror attacks carried out in Jammu and Kashmir.
The probe agency also decided to register a case to probe last year's terror attack on an army convoy in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir, which left five people dead.
The investigation will seek to determine any "common angle" between last year's attack and the recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said, adding that the involvement of Pakistan-based perpetrators in the case cannot be ruled out.
Five army personnel lost their lives and another was seriously injured after his vehicle caught fire following a terror attack on April 20, 2023 in Bhata Dhurian area of Poonch district.
The NIA on Tuesday also sent a team of its officers to assist the Jammu and Kashmir police in their investigation into the terror attack on an army convoy in Kathua that occurred on Monday.
Five army personnel, including a junior officer, were killed and several others injured when a group of heavily armed terrorists ambushed a patrol on the rugged Machedi-Kindli-Malhar mountain road near Badnota village in Lohai Malhar, approximately 150 kilometers. from Kathua district headquarters.
This was the fifth terror attack in the Jammu region in a month.
