NIA charge-sheets Masood Azhar’s brother in Nagrota Army camp attack case

New Delhi, November 20

The NIA on Tuesday filed a charge sheet against Maulana Abdul Rouf Asgar, deputy chief of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group and brother of Maulana Masood Azhar, and 13 others in connection with a case pertaining to the attack on an Army camp in Nagrota in Jammu and Kashmir in November 2016, officials said.

The spokesman of the NIA said in a statement that the charge sheet was filed under various sections of Ranbir Penal Code (substitute of IPC in Jammu and Kashmir), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Foreigners Act against the accused.

“Investigation conducted by the NIA revealed that four local Kashmiri JeM members, namely Mohd. Ashiq Baba alias Mohd. Ashaq, Syed Munir-Ul-Hassan Qadri, Tariq Ahmad Dar and Ashraf Hamid Khandey (all arrested by NIA) had facilitated a group of three heavily armed Pakistani terrorists and transported them from International Border in Samba-Kathua sector to Hotel Jagdamba in Jammu and subsequently to Nagrota in their vehicles for the attack on the November 28, 2016, on Officers’ Mess Complex, 166 Medium Regiment of Indian Army in Nagrota Cantonment (near Jammu),” the spokesman said.

The three Pakistani JeM terrorists—Khalid alias Abu Hissam, Numan and Aadil, who were highly trained and equipped with AK-47 rifles and explosives carried out the attack in which seven Army personnel were killed and three were injured. All the three terrorists were killed.

The NIA said the probe showed that Maulana Abdul Rouf Asgar, Deputy Chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad and brother of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, was the mastermind of the Nagrota attack.

“He worked out the plan of fidayeen (suicide) attack and provided training to above three Pakistani JeM terrorists. He also directed Mufti Asgar (launch commander of JeM in Kashmir region) to provide training, funds, equipment and mobile and other logistics to local JeM member Mohd. Ashiq Baba.

Mohd Ashiq Baba had visited Pakistan many times and met JeM terrorists Waseem (Operational commander of JeM), Abu Talha alias Doctor (deputy commander in Jammu region) and Qari Zarar (launch commander of JeM for Jammu region).

He was taken for a meeting with Mufti Asgar at Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. On reaching there he was received by Abdullah alias Al Hijama and Tariq Mir, both JeM terrorists who are close associates of Mufti Asgar.

“During a meeting with top leadership of JeM commanders, Mufti Asgar chalked out a detailed plan including the modus operandi to be adopted for infiltration of JeM terrorists and he asked Ashiq to activate local JeM network in Jammu and Kashmir for Jehadi cause. Ashiq Baba was given training at Manshera in Pakistan and handed over money for arranging logistics along with a GPS enabled Huawei mobile phone for communication with JeM leaders in Pakistan,” the spokesman said.

The NIA has collected evidence on the basis of disclosure of the accused, detailed social media analysis, digital evidence through requests under Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and analysis of data extracted from the seized digital devices. — PTI