The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two persons who had allegedly harboured terrorists involved in the five civilian killings in Dhangri village of Rajouri in January this year.

The duo identified as Nisar Ahmed alias Haji Nisar and Mushtaq Hussain was formally arrested by the NIA on Thursday in the case RC-01/2023/NIA/JMU.

“They were produced before the NIA Special Court, Jammu, on Friday and were sent to 12 days NIA custody,” the NIA officials said. “Incidentally, both the accused were currently lodged at Central Jail, Kot Bhalwal, Jammu, in another case registered at Police Station Gursai, Mendhar, Poonch.”

On January 1, 2023, five persons were killed and others seriously injured in an attack by unknown terrorists.

“The case was initially registered as FIR No 01/2023 at PS Rajouri under Section 302, 307, 120-B, 452, and 323 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Sections 13, 16, and 18 of UA (P) Act 1967, and Sections 7 and 27 of the Arms Act,” the NIA officials said.

They said that the probe agency had taken over and re-registered the case on January 13.

“Investigations by the NIA revealed that both the arrested accused persons were involved in harbouring terrorists who had carried out the shocking killings of the civilians,” the NIA said. “They had provided logistics support to the terrorists for more than two months and sheltered them in a hideout, which was constructed by the arrested accused persons on the directions of Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) handlers Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt, Abu Qatal alias Qatal Sindhi, and Muhammad Qasim.

“During the course of investigations of the case pertaining to the killing of innocent civilians at Dhangri in Rajouri, a team of NIA officials camped for quite sometime in the hilly terrain of Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi districts and examined a large number of suspicious entities and later zeroed in on the two accused persons who had provided the hideout,” the NIA said. “The case is being investigated further