NIA team visits Kulgam attack site
NIA team visits Kulgam attack site
Preliminary probe points to 3 terrorists, Suspected OGWs being questioned
Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) team visited the site of Wednesday’s attack on a CRPF checkpoint near Mir Bazar in Kulgam district on Thursday even as preliminary investigations indicated that at least three terrorists, two of them believed to be foreign nationals, were involved in the strike.
“A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team on Thursday visited the site of the terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) checkpoint in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district,” a senior police officer said.
The team inspected the spot to gather forensic evidence and examine the circumstances surrounding the attack, in which three CRPF personnel were injured.
The samples collected from the scene are expected to assist investigators in establishing the sequence of events and identifying those involved in the attack.
Security forces have continued search operations in the area to trace the attackers.
“The preliminary investigation reveals that at least three terrorists were involved in the attack. Two of them seem to be foreign nationals,” said senior police officer. “We are reviewing the CCTV footage from the area to get a clear picture. There is a marshy patch in the area and the terrorists escaped using the cover of the trees and bushes.”
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Officials said the attackers approached the checkpoint on foot from the marshy area about 50 metres away.
After opening fire with AK-47 rifles, they fled on foot through the same tree line.
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The attack took place barely 2 km from the heavily guarded Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
The CRPF had earlier stated that the incident occurred around 2:15 pm when the assailants fired at its personnel of the 46th Battalion, deployed as a bridge guard, before fleeing the spot.
The three injured CRPF personnel — Head Constable Somveer Singh (Madhya Pradesh), Constable RakeshDass (Assam) and Constable Santosh Chandru (West Bengal) – were first rushed to Government Medical College, Anantnag, and later shifted to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar.
One sustained bullet wounds to the abdomen and spine and underwent surgery; the other two received injuries to the arm and leg.
Two of the injured have since been discharged after treatment, while the critically injured jawan continues to receive advanced care.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the hospital to enquire about his condition.
GOC 15 Corps, Lieutenant General Balbir Singh, visited the spot to review the ongoing operations.
Senior officers of the Army, CRPF and J&K Police are supervising the expanded search, guided by human and technical intelligence.
A Motorola phone and SIM card were recovered from the site.
Sources said investigators are examining the possibility that the attackers belong to a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) module operating in south Kashmir.
At least three suspected overground workers (OGWs) of the LeT are being questioned, with agencies suspecting that at least one provided logistical assistance, including reconnaissance and shelter.
Police sources also suspect the involvement of local terrorist Lateef Ahmad Bhat of Kulgam, earlier blamed for two attacks in July and described at the time as the only local militant active in the Valley.
Cartridges recovered from the site matched those found in the earlier Killam incident.
There are concerns within the security establishment that, even as local recruitment has declined, small groups of foreign terrorists assisted by local support networks retain the capacity for targeted attacks.
The period preceding winter is considered particularly vulnerable as terrorists hiding in the higher reaches of the PirPanjal typically move to lower elevations before snowfall.
Such movements are sometimes accompanied by attacks before they shift to winter hideouts.
A senior security officer said the strike appeared part of an attempt by Pakistan-based groups to reactivate networks in Kashmir despite sustained counter-terrorism operations.(GK)