Days after attack on Army vehicle in J&K, 3 held for giving logistic support to terrorists

Ahmed had been an over ground worker and according to the locals, he was released from jail in 2014 after spending two years under the Public Safety Act.

Ahmed, an active over ground worker, was already on the suspect list of police since 1990 and he had been questioned several times in the past. “This time, after corroborating the evidence, he was found involved in providing logistic and other support to terrorists who carried out the attack on the Army vehicle in Poonch,” the DGP said, adding, “Ahmed’s family is also involved in providing support to the terrorists.”

The J&K Police Chief said that the weapons, grenades and cash for terrorists was dropped by a drone from Pakistan and the same was collected by Ahmed and his family members. “We are identifying the spot where the drone had dropped off the weapons and cash,” he said, adding that 200 people have so far been questioned and of them, 12 suspects have been detained.

“With Ahmed’s arrest, the ongoing investigation has got a direction and vital leads have been received,” he added.

The DGP was on a visit to Rajouri’s Darhal area where the terrorists had attacked an Army camp on August 11. Two of the terrorists were killed in retaliatory action by the troops.

Pointing out that an intense search has been launched to track the terrorists, he said that the initial investigations suggest that nine to 12 foreign terrorists, who may have infiltrated recently, are active in the Rajouri and Poonch areas. “The group of terrorists appears to be behind the recent attack on the Army vehicle and they may have further divided themselves into two,” he added.

The UT’s police chief said the attack on the Army vehicle in Poonch could not have been carried out without local support. “The terrorists were provided shelter at one place and then provided transport to carry out the attack at some other place,” he said.

The terrorists had done proper reconnaissance of the area and they knew very well the spot where the vehicle’s speed would come to almost “zero”, he said. As such, despite rain, they succeeded to target the Army vehicle which was plying at almost zero speed due to a blind turn, Singh added.

Pointing out that the terrorist used steel coated armour piercing bullets and IEDs to blow the Army vehicle in a bid to inflict maximum damage, Singh said the same bullets were used in the terrorist attack at Dhangri in Rajouri district where seven civilians were killed and 14 others were injured on January 1 and 2 this year.

The DGP, quoting initial investigations, said that the terrorists may have used natural hideouts. “We are identifying the natural hideouts that may have been used by the attackers before the attack and an intense search operation is on to nab the attackers,” he said.