NIA chargesheets Azhar, 2 brothers

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 25

Over 18 months after the deadliest attack in Kashmir that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has named 19 persons, including Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, in the chargesheet in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack case.

On February 14, 2019, a local suicide bomber, Adil Dar, had rammed an explosive-laden car into a CRPF bus at Lethpora, killing 40 personnel.

In its 13,800-page chargesheet filed in a special NIA court in Jammu today, the probe agency named Azhar, one of the three militants released as part of the 1999 Kandahar hijack prisoner swap, his brothers Abdul Rauf Asghar and Ammar Alvi and 16 others as accused.

Among the 19, seven militants have been arrested, while six, including three from Pakistan, have been eliminated. One of the accused in the case is a woman from south Kashmir.

The NIA said the Pakistan-based Jaish leadership hatched the conspiracy and the attack was executed by Pakistan militant Mohammad Umar Farooq, who infiltrated into Kashmir in April 2018, and his local associates Sameer Dar and Adil Ahmad Dar.

“The RDX was brought by the Pakistan terrorists who infiltrated into India. Shakir (another accused) collected the explosive material and stocked it in his house. In the first week of February, Umar, Sameer, Adil and Shakir made the IED using the RDX, calcium-ammonium nitrate, gelatin sticks and aluminum powder and assembled it in two containers — one weighing 160 kg and the second 40 kg.

“The two IED containers were fitted into a Maruti Eeco car and the accused were ready (to strike) by the morning of February 6. However, it got delayed due to closure of highway due to snowfall. On February 14, Shakir drove Adil till the national highway, after which Adil took charge of the vehicle and carried out the suicide attack,” the NIA said. The investigation revealed that the JeM leadership continuously gave directions to the militants who had infiltrated into India both before and after the attack.

“Investigation also revealed a well-crafted mechanism by the Pakistan establishment to push terrorists into India from launch pads located in Shakargarh (Pakistan), opposite the Samba-Kathua sector in Jammu,” it said.

2019 Blast brought India, Pak to brink of war

• Feb 14, 2019 Car bomber kills 40 CRPF men in Pulwama
• Feb 20 NIA takes over probe
• Feb 25 Owner of Maruti Eeco car used in attack identified
• Feb 26 India carries out airstrikes at Balakot in Pak
• Feb 27 Pakistan retaliates, a brief dogfight ensues
• Feb 28, 2020 Breakthrough as overground worker Shakir Magrey held, more arrests follow
• Aug 25 NIA files chargesheet in a special court

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