Reasi attack probe: Key suspect’s leads prompt NIA searches in J&K’s Rajouri
On Sunday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids at five locations in Rajouri belonging to hybrid terrorists and overground workers (OGWs) in connection with a terror attack on a bus carrying pilgrims in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir on June 9.
The raids were carried out following the interrogation of OGW, Hakam Khan, apprehended by the Jammu and Kashmir police on June 19.
The central agency said in a statement, “NIA, which took over the investigation on June 15 on orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs searched five locations linked with hybrid terrorists and Overground Workers (OGWs). The locations were pointed out by the arrested accused, Hakam Khan alias Hakin din.”
According to the agency, Hakam had provided them with safe shelter, logistics, and food, as per NIA investigations.
The federal agency further claimed the searches led to the seizure of various items showing linkages between the terrorists and OGWs.
It is investigating a larger international conspiracy as part of a multi-pronged crackdown on the latest “guerrilla” type hit-and-run attacks by Pakistan-trained terrorists in the Jammu region.
NIA probing the case is considering the possibility of a shift in tactics, potentially involving well-trained Pakistani terrorists or even regular members of the Pakistan army in recent attacks. This differs from the 2022 incidents, where local “hybrid” terrorists, who also acted as overground workers and attackers, were predominantly involved in targeting laborers and Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir Valley.
Earlier, on June 9, two masked terrorists opened indiscriminate fire at a 53-seater bus on its way from the Shiv Khori temple in Reasi to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, causing it to veer off the road and fall into a deep gorge near the Teryath village of the Poni area. The bus was ferrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. Nine people, including a local driver and conductor of the bus, were killed while 42 received injuries in the incident.
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