NEW DELHI: Video clips, WhatsApp chats and photographs retrieved from a damaged mobile phone helped the National Investigation Agency (NIA) nail the conspiracy behind the 2019 Pulwama suicide attack. The mobile phone belonged to a Pakistani militant, Mohammed Umar Farooq (24), killed a month after the attack, according to the NIA.
On Tuesday, the agency filed a 13,800-page charge-sheet against 19 accused persons including Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Rouf Asgar and cousin Ammar Alvi, all Pakistani nationals.
Foreign enforcement agencies including the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provided inputs for digital and forensic evidence in the case, said officials.
According to the NIA, Azhar had planned to carry out another suicide attack after Pulwama which was averted due to Balakot strikes and later killing of Farooq by the security forces. He was the son of the IC-814 hijacking accused Ibrahim Athar. “Due to international pressure, Pakistan lied low,” said the agency.
On February 26, Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets carried out air strikes on one of the largest training camps of JeM in Balakot in Pakistan, according to the Indian government, in retaliation to the Pulwama attacks in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed last year.
Investigations revealed that Farooq visited Afghanistan for explosives training in 2016-17. He infiltrated into India through the international border at Jammu-Samba sector in April 2018 and took over as JeM commander of Pulwama. “Accused Shakir Bashir, Insha Jan, Peer Tariq Ahmad Shah and Bilal Ahmad Kuchey provided all logistics and harboured the JeM terrorists in their houses,” the NIA said in a statement.
From December 2018 onwards, Bashir started doing recce of the movement and deployment of security forces on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. “The explosives including RDX, gelatin sticks, aluminium power and ammonium nitrate, were brought by the Pakistani militants into India and were kept at Bashir’s house for making the IEDs (improvised explosive devices). In the month of January 2019, another suspect namely Sajjad Ahmad Bhat purchased a Maruti Eeco car,” said the NIA.
“The vehicle was kept in the front yard of Bashir’s house while accused Waiz-Ul-Islam ordered 4 kilogramme of aluminium powder using his Amazon account. Farooq, along with other Pak nationals – Mohd. Kamran, Mohd. Ismail and Qari Yasir conspired with the suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar (local) for the attack on security forces using IEDs,” said the charge-sheet.
While Ismail is absconding, the other three Pakistani nationals were killed during an encounter with security forces. A propaganda video of the suicide attack, retrieved from the mobile phone, was shot by Sameer Dar and Adil Ahmad Dar at Insha Jan’s house. It was released immediately after the attack, according to the charge-sheet.
The vehicle IED attack was initially planned for February 6, 2019. However, the plans were postponed after the highway was closed due to heavy snowfall. According to the NIA, two IED containers, one weighing around 160 kg and the second one weighing around 40 kg fitted in a Maruti Eeco were used in the attacks. Besides killing the CRPF jawans, the blast resulted in damage to public property worth Rs 32 lakh.
“Investigation revealed a well-crafted mechanism by Pakistani establishment to push terrorists into India from the launch pads located in Shakargarh (Pakistan) opposite Samba-Kathua sector in Jammu. The charge-sheet has brought on record involvement of Pakistan-based entities to carry out terror strikes in India and provoke Kashmiri youth,” said the NIA.
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