Srinagar: One of the two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists 'Mohammed Naved' was captured alive by a group of villagers in Jammu and Kashmir's Simroli area on Wednesday.
Naved, resident of Ghulam Mustafabad area in Faislabad town of Pakistan, along with another terrorist Noman alias Momin, fired at a BSF convoy on the highway at Simroli. BSF jawans retaliated killing Noman while Naved managed to escape towards a village in the nearby hills where he took three villagers hostage.
The dramatic development took place after two militants ambushed a Border Security Force convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Udhampur district, killing two troopers and injuring 11. This happened around 7.30 am at Narsu Nallah, 65 km from Jammu.
The villagers managed to capture him and call the police who took him into custody, giving the Indian security establishment a prize catch which points to Pakistani involvement in the attack.
In the small village, the armed man first took hostage three civilians and forced them to give him food, witnesses later told journalists. He also kept asking about the fate of his colleague.
"As I came out of my house after hearing a gun shot, this militant came and asked me to come with him. He had already taken three-four people along," Rakesh Kumar, a youth who was taken hostage, said.
Army and Police then cordoned off the area surrounding the school to rescue the hostages.
"We were taken at gunpoint to the school. He asked us to show us the route to escape from the area," another hostage, Vikramjeet said.
The militant threatened them that if they didn't show him the route, he would kill their family, he said, adding that they also offered him some food.
While the other three, Desraj, Subash Sharma and Jeevan, managed to escape, Vikramjeet and Rakesh fought with the militant and caught him after a tough struggle.
"I caught his neck and he (Rakesh) caught hold of the gun. He (the militant) fired a few rounds but we escaped narrowly and caught him," Vikramjeet said.
According to one account, when a group of villagers nabbed him, he began to plead: "Mujhe mat pakdo, mujhe mat pakdo." (Don't catch me, don't catch me.)
As he was brought down from a mountainous village bound by ropes, the terrorist, believed to be not over 18-years old, looked hassled. He wore a black shirt and trouser.
Naved, who says he hails from Faislabad in Pakistan, claimed before the media that he entered the Jammu region 12 days ago along with Momin Khan.
"I came to kill Hindus," said Naved, dressed in a dark blue shirt and brown trousers, with a relaxed demeanour. He also alleged that Kashmiris were being killed all the time.
(With PTI inputs)
