NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ordered the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the probe into the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which is allegedly sponsored by Pakistan and carried out by the The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Pak-based banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), officials said on Sunday.
A spokesperson of the NIA in a statement said, the agency has begun the process of formally taking over the Pahalgam terror attack case, in which 26 innocent tourists were mercilessly shot dead, from Jammu & Kashmir Police following orders from the MHA. The NIA teams, which have been camping at the terror attack site since Wednesday, have intensified the search for evidence, he added.
“The teams, overseen by an IG, a DIG and an SP from the anti-terror agency, are examining the eyewitnesses, who had seen the horrifying attack unfold before their eyes at the peaceful and picturesque Baisaran valley. The eyewitnesses are being questioned in minute detail to piece together the sequence of events that led to one of the worst terror attacks in Kashmir,” the spokesperson said.
The NIA has already been involved in recording the statements of the survivors of the Pahalgam attack for the past couple of days apart from interrogating dozens of overground workers (OGWs) and arrested terrorists belonging to LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and other outfits who are currently lodged in prisons, a senior agency official said.
“The entry and exit points are being closely scrutinised by the investigating NIA teams for clues to the modus operandi of the terrorists. The teams, aided by forensic and other experts, are checking the entire area thoroughly for evidence to expose the terror conspiracy that led to the horrendous attack that has shocked the nation,” the spokesperson said.
The Central anti-terror agency formally registered a fresh FIR on late Saturday following an order issued from the Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation (CTCR) division of the Ministry of Home Affairs considering the gravity of the case as Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba's proxy, the Resistance Front (TRF), has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The NIA took over the case five days after the incident and four days after its team visited the attack site and started supporting the Jammu and Kashmir Police in probing what is considered the deadliest assault on civilians in the region in almost twenty years.
The NIA team is expected to conduct a thorough assessment of the attack site, collect forensic evidence, and help in identifying those responsible for the carnage. Authorities pressed a chopper into service for the evacuation of the injured persons.
Meanwhile, ground forces comprising the Army, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and J&K police are hunting for the attackers.
Reportedly, Indian intelligence agencies have already traced Pahalgam attack’s digital footprints to some safehouses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, establishing a clear Pakistan hand and suggesting that a 26/11 Mumbai attacks type control-room run operation may have been replicated.
Forensic analysis and statements by survivors have also revealed that four to five terrorists were involved in the killings. They were well-equipped with automatic weapons, including AK rifles, sophisticated communication devices, and some were even dressed in military-style fatigues.
There had been inputs that the Pakistan army and ISI were actively facilitating infiltration of highly skilled terrorists of LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) from the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) into India since January this year.
The attack comes at a time when Kashmir is experiencing a significant uptick in tourist arrivals after years of militancy. Notably, the 38-day Amarnath Yatra is set to commence on July 3.
The NIA's move comes amid intelligence agencies compiling a list of 14 local terrorists actively operating in the Union Territory.
According to sources, these individuals, aged between 20 and 40 years, are actively aiding foreign terrorists from Pakistan by providing logistical and ground-level support.
The identified operatives are reportedly affiliated with three major Pakistan-backed terror outfits: Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Among them, three are associated with Hizbul Mujahideen, eight with LeT, and three with JeM.
Sources revealed the names of these individuals as: Adil Rehman Dentoo (21), Asif Ahmed Sheikh (28), Ahsan Ahmed Sheikh (23), Haris Nazir (20), Aamir Nazir Wani (20), Yawar Ahmed Bhat, Asif Ahmed Khanday (24), Naseer Ahmed Wani (21), Shahid Ahmed Kutay (27), Aamir Ahmed Dar, Adnan Safi Dar, Zubair Ahmed Wani (39), Haroon Rashid Ganai (32), and Zakir Ahmed Ganie (29).
Dentoo joined LeT in 2021 and is actively working as the Sopore district commander of the banned outfit. Asif Ahmed Sheikh, a terrorist of JeM, is the district commander of Awantipora and has been continuously involved in terrorist activities since 2022. Ahsan Ahmed Sheikh is active in Pulwama as a LeT terrorist and has been involved in terrorist activities continuously since 2023. Haris Nazir is a terrorist from Pulwama and active in LeT since 2023, while Aamir Nazir Wani is also an active terrorist in Pulwama linked to JeM since 2024. Yawar Ahmed Bhat is also completely active in Pulwama and has been associated with JeM since 2024.
Asif Ahmed Khanday is a terrorist from Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir, and he joined Hizbul Mujahideen in July 2015, and is currently an active member of the terror group aiding Pakistani terrorists. Naseer Ahmed Wani is also actively involved in terrorist activities in Shopian since 2019 as an active member of LeT significantly aiding Pakistani terrorists. Shahid Ahmed Kutay, another active terrorist in Shopian, is linked with LeT and its proxy group, The Resistance Front (TRF), since 2023.
Aamir Ahmed Dar, also active in Shopian since 2023, is working with LeT and play a major role as an aide to foreign terrorists. Adnan Safi Dar, who is another active terrorist from Shopian district, is working jointly for LeT and TRF since 2024, and acts as a conduit for information from Pakistani handlers to terrorists.
Zubair Ahmed Wani alias Abu Ubaida alias Usman is the Chief Operational Commander of Hizbul Mujahideen in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. He is categorised as an A+ active terrorist and significantly aids other terrorists and has been implicated multiple times in attacks on security forces since 2018.
Haroon Rashid Ganai, an active Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist also from Anantnag, is on the search radar of security forces. He had earlier travelled to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), where he received training in 2018. He reportedly came back to South Kashmir recently. However, Zubair Ahmed Gani, a major terrorist from Kulgam district in Jammu and Kashmir, is associated with LeT and continuously involved in attacks on security forces and targeted killings.
The identification of these local terror aides comes as agencies intensify efforts to dismantle the support networks facilitating cross-border terrorism.
Security forces have launched coordinated operations across South Kashmir, particularly in Anantnag and Pulwama districts, where many of the listed individuals are believed to be operating. Senior officials indicate that these names are part of a larger intelligence dossier being used to pre-empt further attacks and disrupt terror logistics in the Valley.
The agencies are engaged in finding links between these 14 terrorists and the five terrorists who were involved in the attack.
The release of the list of these 14 local active terrorists is a move followed by investigators identified five terrorists involved in the deadly attack, including three Pakistani nationals. The authorities had earlier also released three sketches of these Pakistani terrorists, Asif Fauji, Suleman Shah and Abu Talha. The other two Valley-based operatives were identified as Adil Guri and Ahsan. A bounty of Rs 20 lakh on each has also been announced.
(With inputs from ANI)
