NIA takes over Udhampur terror attack case

The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday took over the case of Tuesday’s Udhampur terror strike in which a Pakistani terrorist, who was caught alive by villagers, has said that he had undergone training in two different modules with Lashker-e-Tayiba terror group.

A team of NIA, a central probe agency created after the 2008 Mumbai attack, headed by Inspector General Sanjeev Kumar Singh, has been camping in Jammu since yesterday and has visited the site of the encounter, official sources said.

Singh has been dealing with several terror related cases including the Burdhwan blast of West Bengal. In the Udhampur attack, two heavily-armed terrorists believed to be from Pakistan ambushed a convoy of Border Security Force personnel and opened fire in which two constables and a militant were killed while another terrorist was caught alive in a manner identical to the nabbing of 26/11 attacker Ajmal Kasab.

A case under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and various sections of Indian Penal Code has been registered against the arrested Lashker-e-Taiba terrorist

Mohammed Naved Yakub, who has claimed that he hailed from Faislabad in Pakistan. His accomplice, identified by him as Noman alias Momin, was killed in retaliatory firing by the BSF.

The NIA team will examine the BSF personnel which was part of the convoy and the villagers who had shown exemplary bravery in nabbing the armed terrorist, the sources said.

Naved, who remained composed during the night-long interrogation, told sleuths that he had undergone two training modules --'Daur-e-Aam' and 'Daura-e-Khas'--of Lashker-e-Tayiba terror group. While the first module teaches the terror cadre of physical fitness, mountaineering and using of small arms, in the second they are trained in assault rifles and manufacture of small explosives.

In his early 20s, Naved disclosed that he had entered into India through Baramulla in North Kashmir area by cutting the fencing. During interrogation, he said that he had stayed at Tangmarg and Baba Reshi and shifted their base to Awantipura-Pulwama in South Kashmir where he remained inside a cave located on a hill side.

The group split into two and he along with Noman moved to Kulgam in South Kashmir from where they boarded a truck to Jammu on Tuesday. They got down at Udhampur after staying at Patnitop for night.

Naved will be taken to all the places in which he had claimed to have stayed after infiltrating from across the border.