NIA arrests two aides of LeT terrorist from Jammu

TNN Bureau. Updated: 9/20/2017 12:59:36 AM Front Page

JAMMU: The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday arrested two persons from Jammu for providing material and logistic support to one Bahadur Ali, a Lashkar-eTaiba (LeT) terrorist who was arrested from Handwara in the month of July this year.
"Two persons identified namely as Zahoor Ahmed Peer and Nazir Ahmed Peer both residents of Wahama, Kupwara, were arrested from Jammu today for their involvement in NIA case number RC- 11/2016/NIA/DLI (Bahadur Ali Case)", an NIA spokesperson said.
The NIA will seek their transit remand and bring them to Delhi for further questioning, he added.
In July last year, police in Jammu and Kashmir arrested a Pakistani national, Bahadur Ali, from Handwara in North Kashmir and recovered a large quantity of incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, from him. The case was later handed over to the NIA.
Investigations revealed that the accused persons allegedly provided material and logistical support to Ali and his associates soon after their infiltration into Indian territory, the spokesperson said.
"During the due course of investigation, the role of Zahoor Ahmed Peer and Nazir Ahmed Peer surfaced following which the duo was arrested," he said.
"NIA now will be seeking the transit remand of these accused persons and will bring them to Delhi for further questioning."
In January this year, the NIA had charge-sheeted Ali, a member of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba terror outfit who had been arrested from Yahama village of Handwara on July 24 last year.
The charge sheet highlighted gaps along the Line of Control (LoC) as Ali along with two other terrorists had been walked undetected for seven days.
The NIA said Ali alias Saifullah Mansoor along with two associates, Abu Saad and Abu Darda, all trained terrorists, infiltrated into Indian territory equipped with arms and ammunition, navigation equipment, combat material and other articles.
The trio entered India during on the intervening night of June 12-13 last year and reached their destination only around June 20. The area is expected to be dotted by security personnel as part of counter-infiltration grid.
On June 22, Ali's two associates left to get some food, leaving Ali on a hill top. Both were killed in an encounter.
According to the NIA charge sheet, investigation had established that Ali, who is a school dropout and originally a resident of Jia Bagga Village of Raiwind in Lahore, Pakistan, was also provided a map depicting parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).
The NIA during questioning of Ali came to know that he had crossed over to India to target security forces and unleash more unrest in the valley. He was on a suicide mission in Kashmir.
The NIA also learnt from the arrested Lashker cadre that he had instructed its cadre to stay behind Kashmiris during protests in the valley that has witnessed a wave of violence after security forces gunned down Burhan Wani, a poster boy of the terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen whose killing has left valley on boil in July 2016.
He was provided with Grid References (GR) that had been recovered from his possession. Ali plotted these GRs on the map which was sent for examination to the Surveyor General of India at Dehradun who affirmed that the terrorist had plotted them correctly.
A pocket diary recovered from Ali, among other things, listed the names of several towns in Jammu and Kashmir.


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