New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday (August 25) filed a charge sheet of 13,800 pages against 19 accused involved with a terror attack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead, injuring 8 others in South Kashmir in February last year. The suicide attack, by Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist Adil Ahmad Dar, took place at Lethpura, Pulwama, when the CRPF convoy was moving from Jammu to Srinagar on February 14, 2019.
The NIA charge sheet made several startling revelations about Pulwama attack:
1. The Pulwama attack plot was hatched in Pakistan. Jaish terrorists have been sending their cadres to the terrorist training camps of Al-Qaida-Taliban-JeM and Haqqani-JeM in Afghanistan for receiving training in explosives and other terrorist tactics.
2. The key accused Muhammad Omar went to Afghanistan in 2016-17 and took training for launching the terror attack. Umar infiltrated into India through International Border at Jammu-Samba Sector in April 2018 and took over as Jaish-e-Mohammad Commander of Pulwama.
3. After entering into India, Mohammad Umar along with his Pakistani compatriots viz. Mohd Kamran, Mohd Ismail Saifullah, and Qari Yasir and local associates viz. Sameer Dar and Adil Ahmad Dar planned and prepared for the attack on security forces using IEDs.
4. Shakir Basir Jaan, Pir Tariq Ahmad Shah, and Bilal Ahmed gave shelter to these terrorists. Prior to the attack, Shakir Basir did a recce of the Jammu-Srinagar highway.
5. Mudsir Ahmed Khan had arranged gelatin sticks while Shakir Basir had hidden the RDX used in the attack in his house.
6. In June 2019, Sajid Ahmad Bhat bought a Maruti Eeco car for IED blast, and Wazir ul Islam purchased 4 kg of Aluminium powder from Amazon.
7. The video of Adil Dar, which was released after the attack on social media, was jointly prepared by Muhammad Omar Farooq, Sameer Das, and Adil Dar in June 2019.
8. The terrorists had also planned an attack on February 6, 2019, but they could not go ahead due to heavy snowfall that stopped the movement of vehicles on the National Highway.
9. The NIA investigation also revealed how the terrorists were preparing to enter the Samba-Kathua sector. They had planned the attack on February 6, but due to snowfall the National Highway was closed.
Notably, Shakir Basir brought the Maruti Eeco car laden with 200 kg explosive to the national highway on February 14, and Adil Ahmed Dar hit the CRPF convoy with the car.
The probe also revealed that the Pakistan-based JeM leadership comprising Masood Azhar, Rouf Asgar, and Ammar Alvi Chacha Chota Masood were continuously giving directions and guidance to the Pakistani JeM terrorists, who had infiltrated into India, both before and after the attack.
They had also planned to carry out another suicide attack which got averted due to Balakot strikes and due to killing of the main conspirator Mohd Umar Farooq by the security forces. Further, due to international pressure, Pakistan lied low.
The investigation also revealed a well-crafted mechanism by the Pakistani establishment to push terrorists into the Indian territory from the launch pads located in Shakargarh (Pakistan) opposite Samba-Kathua Sector in Jammu.
Notably, the charge sheet has been filed u/s 120-B, 121, 121-A, 122, 123, 307, 302 of the RPC, sections 7, 25, 27 of Arms Act, sections 3, 4, 5 & 6 of the Explosive Substances Act, sections 16, 17, 18, 18A, 18B, 19, 20, 21, 38 & 39 of the UA (P) Act, section 14C of Foreigners Act and section 4 of Jammu and Kashmir Public Property (Prevention of Damages) Act, 1985 against the following accused persons:
1. Masood Azhar, 52 years, Pakistani national (Absconding)
2. Rouf Asgar, 47 years, Pakistani national (Absconding)
3. Ammar Alvi, 46 years, Pakistani national (Absconding)
4. Shakir Bashir, 24 Years, r/o Kakapora, Pulwama, J&K. (Arrested)
5. Insha Jan, 22 Years r/o Kakapora, Pulwama, J&K (Arrested)
6. Peer Tariq Ahmed Shah, 53 Years, r/o Kakapora, Pulwama, J&K (Arrested)
7. Waiz-ul-Islam, 20 Years, r/o Srinagar, J&K (Arrested)
8. Mohd Abbas Rather, 31 Years, r/o Kakapura, Pulwama, J&K. (Arrested)
9. Bilal Ahmed Kuchhey, 28 years, r/o Hajibal, Lalhar, Pulwama, J&K (Arrested)
10. Mohd Iqbal Rather, 25 years, r/o, Charar-e-Shareef, Budgam, J&K. (Arrested)
11. Mohd Ismail, 25 years, r/o Pakistani national (Absconding)
12. Sameer Ahmad Dar, 22 years, r/o Kakapora, Pulwama, Kashmir (Absconding)
13. Ashaq Ahmed Nengroo, 33 years, r/o Rajpura, Pulwama. (Absconding)
14. Adil Ahmed Dar, 21 years, r/o Kakapora, Pulwama, Kashmir (Killed).
15. Muhammad Umar Farooq, 24 years, r/o Pakistani national (Killed)
16. Mohd Kamran Ali, 25 years, r/o Pakistani national (Killed)
17. Sajjad Ahmed Bhat, 19 years, r/o Bijbehera, Anantnag (Killed)
18. Mudasir Ahmad Khan, 24 years, r/o Awantipura, Pulwama (Killed)
19. Qari Yasir, r/o Pakistani national (Killed)
The NIA charge-sheet against 19 accused marks the culmination of a year and a half long painstaking and meticulous investigation with valuable inputs received from other Central and state government agencies as well as foreign law-enforcement agencies.
The NIA collected a lot of digital, forensic, documentary, and oral evidence establishing a fool-proof case against the accused of this barbaric attack. The charge-sheet has brought on record the all-out involvement of Pakistan-based entities to carry out terrorist strikes in India and to incite and provoke Kashmiri youth.
Non-bailable warrants (NBW) have also been issued against the absconding accused and further investigation in the case is continued.
