Reasi attackers paid local cattle trader for logistics, finds probe

On June 20, the J&K police had arrested Hakam Din, a 45-year-old from Rajouri district. He used to be a porter at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, but left the job three years ago and took up cattle trading. Before the case was handed over to the NIA, Senior Superintendent of Police Mohita Sharma had called Hakam a “prime militant associate”.

He was questioned by multiple agencies following his arrest. A source familiar with the investigation said, “He claims he first met the attackers around 5.30 pm on June 1, when they knocked on his door and asked him to prepare food for three people. One of them was referring to another as ‘Manzoor bhai’. They asked him to bring food to their shelter in a forest.”

Army personnel conduct a search operation in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. (PTI)

“On June 7, the three militants again visited his house, and asked him to accompany them for a recce to Pouni, where the attack took place. They were there for around three and a half hours. They sat in different spots to pick a strategic location for the attack, and to identify the slope of the road where the vehicle would slow down. They marked these locations before leaving. They also asked Hakam about the movement of tourist buses,” said the source.

A day after conducting the recce, they visited Hakam’s house for tea and discussed the plan. “They left with food. On June 9, they returned to their marked locations and waited for a specific bus carrying pilgrims. They first targeted the driver, and did not stop firing even after he lost control of the bus, which plummeted into a gorge,” said the source.

After the attack, they gave Hakam Rs 5,000 and asked him to escape, but took his Aadhaar card. “With the help of the description provided by him, we have prepared two new sketches of the attackers and shared them with central investigation agencies. Based on his questioning, we suspect the militants infiltrated from across the Line of Control and are still hiding in the dense forests,” the source said.

The sketch of the third attacker was released earlier, and a reward of Rs 20 lakh was announced for information leading to his arrest.