NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday reached the crime spot to initially assist and coordinate with local police in the probe on the terror attack that took place inside a passenger bus in Jammu & Kashmir’s Reasi district on Sunday evening which left nine people dead and 35 injured.
Officials in the agency said that the team was rushed to the crime spot to remain associated with the investigation from the beginning, as in the due course the agency “is expected to take over the probe completely”.
Meanwhile, security forces have also launched a massive cordon and search operation to track down the terrorists responsible for the attack.
Terrorists opened fire at the 53-seater bus, on its way from the Shiv Khori temple 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 on Sunday. The bus was ferrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.
Officials in the security and investigative agencies claimed that the terrorists were waiting for the bus and the driver was hit by gunfire, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. Bullet shells were discovered from the site.
A senior official said, “Initial probe suggests that two masked terrorists fired at the bus, striking the driver. The identities of the dead and injured are yet to be confirmed.”
Security experts here believed that the ambush indicated a potential expansion of terrorist activities into Jammu region, as Reasi district had previously remained unaffected when terror attacks were witnessed in neighboring Rajouri and Poonch.
The Pir Panjal route, known for its challenging terrain, is often used by terrorists to infiltrate into Jammu from the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri before proceeding towards Kashmir.
Sources in the investigative and intelligence agencies suspect the involvement of Illiyas Fauji, an ex-Pakistani army SSG commando, who turned LeT operative, and two other terrorists from Pakistan, who have been on the run since the deadly attack on an IAF convoy in Poonch on May 4.
Sunday’s attack is reminiscent of the July 10, 2017, assault on a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims, which claimed the lives of seven and injured 19. In that incident, the driver managed to save 52 passengers despite heavy gunfire.
According to Union home ministry data, eight civilians were killed in J&K in the first five months of this year up to May 31.