SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: Amid the security establishment’s assessment that it was the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) that was behind the twin drone strikes on an IAF base in Jammu two days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a high-level meeting with defence minister Rajnath Singh, Union home affairs minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
J&K police chief Dilbag Singh pointed his finger of suspicion directly at the LeT, saying it is widely using drones for supplies to its terror operatives. He also said that the drones that attacked the Jammu airbase possibly came from Pakistan.
“The drones are suspected to have come from across (the border) but we are still probing as of now,” he said. Laskhar’s role has been established in most cases of arms smuggling through drones along the Line of Control and the International Border in J&K, he added.
Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency on Tuesday formally took over probe into the airbase attack. Two NIA teams — one from Jammu and the other from Delhi were already part of the investigation since Sunday. An NIA spokesperson termed the twin blasts as “a well-planned conspiracy”.
At the meeting chaired by Modi, the security establishment deliberated on futuristic challenges in the defence sector and on “equipping our forces with modern equipment”, sources said. Policy matters on security were discussed in detail, they added but refused to elaborate.
Sources said security agencies have not found any debris of the drones used in the IAF station attack. “Had the debris been found, we could have detected their point of origin and the route from their GPS coordinates. It is believed that the drones were not self-destructive and probably returned to their source after dropping two explosives, including RDX, injuring two IAF personnel,” a highly placed source told this newspaper.
Splinters found at the site of explosions have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.