NIA Officer Gunned Down in UP

Assailants pumped 24 bullets into NIA officer Tanzil Ahmad, 4 into his wife as children watch from back seat.

File photo of National Investigation Agency NIA officer Mohammad Tanzil who was shot dead by two unidentified attackers near his hometown Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh on late Saturday night. Tanzil was returning from a function with his wife and two children w

NEW DELHI: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer was gunned down by two-bike borne assailants, while his wife suffered bullet injuries in the attack which took place when they were returning home from a wedding near Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor town in the wee hours of Sunday. The police did not rule out the possibility of terror angle behind the shootout and said it was a “planned attack”.

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The NIA officer, identified as Mohammad Tanzil Ahmad (45), had successfully undertaken undercover operations and nabbed Indian Mujahideen terrorists planning to join Islamic State in Syria. Ahmad was attacked at 12.45 am while on his way home from his niece’s wedding in a village in Bijnor district.

When the assailants pumped 24 bullets into Ahmad and four into his wife Farzana, their 14-year old daughter and 12-year old son watched the gruesome attack unfold from the rear seat of the Wagon-R car in which they were travelling. The children were unharmed in the incident. The police suspect that Ahmad’s movements were tracked and the assailants used at least one 9mm pistol in the shootout.

Ahmad had left home in the evening along with his family to attend the marriage at a guesthouse at Sohara village. On their way back, their vehicle was stopped barely 200 metres from his house by two youth who fired from a very close range. Ahmad was rushed to the nearby Cosmos Hospital where he was declared brought dead, while his wife, who is critical but out of danger, was shifted to the Fortis Hospital.

“The patient has been brought in a critical condition. Our doctors are providing the best medical treatment to care for her,” Fortis said in a statement.

The Uttar Pradesh Police have sealed the borders of the district and launched a manhunt for the assailants. The police, UP anti-terror squad and NIA are jointly carrying out the massive search operation to nab them.

IM Footprint?

Ahmad had been probing many cases related to banned Indian Mujahideen

NIA believes IS sympathizers were behind attack as Ahmad was carrying out raids in UP

Officials wondering why his kids were not targeted if it was a case of personal enmity

Regarding the terror angle, they said targeting Ahmad not appropriate since he was a middle-level officer