NEW DELHI: The NIA, which is struggling hard for a breakthrough in the September 2011 Delhi High Court blast case, has interrogated a top jailed Hizb-ul-Mujahideen leader Shafi alias ‘doctor’ in Jammu and Kashmir.
Forensic examination of the IED (improvised explosive device) had revealed that a sophisticated three-battery remote timer was used to trigger the blast that had left 15 dead and scores injured. Investigation revealed that Shafi’s group had used a similar timer device to detonate IEDs last year on different occasions.
Shafi, a divisional commander of Hizbul group, was interrogated to find out the identity of persons responsible for smuggling the timer from Pakistan that was used in high court blast case. Agency’s investigation had revealed that these ‘timers’ were manufactured in Pakistan and smuggled into the valley to carry out blast.
In three cases, Hizbul groups have used these timers. In the first case it unsuccessfully tried to trigger blast in Sangrama in Sopore of North Kashmir. In the second case, they succeeded in assassinating Amiat-e-ahl-e-Hadees head Maluana Showkat Ahmad Shah in April last year. However, they failed in another attempt made to assassinate an Army official in Udhampur in May last year.
The agency had also questioned six chargesheeted in the assassination of Maulana Showkat after seeking permission from the court. The six accused-- Javed Ahmad Munshi alias Bill Papa, Nisar Ahmad Khan alias Ishaq, Abdul Ghani Dar alias Ghazzali, Abdul Majid Dar, Al Madni, Gulzar A Khan and Reyaz Ahmad Shah - were also quizzed to know from where did they assemble the bomb for killing of Maulana Showkat in April last year.
Initially, the agency made some success in the case after it had arrested persons involved in sending out a terror email from Jammu soon after the blast but main perpetrators remained out of their reach. It is suspected that different modules were involved in the plot to trigger explosion outside the high security High Court’s complex.