Agencies
New Delhi, Apr 25: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday took custody of two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) operatives, imprisoned in Jammu under the Public Safety Act (PSA), to interrogate in connection with various terror acts, including the February 14 Pulwama attack, NIA officials said here. "They have been brought here in a general case that was registered in March in Delhi," NIA spokesperson Alok Mittal said.
Tanveer Ahmad Ganie, 29, and Bilal Ahmad Mir, 23, both residents of the Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, were brought from the Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu and produced before the special NIA court on Thursday against a production warrant. The court remanded them to seven-day NIA custody till May 2.
Asked if the suspects had links with the Pulwama attack or any other terrorist case, the official said, "we will interrogate them on every terrorist activities carried out in J&K." On February 14, a JeM terrorist rammed his explosive-laden car into a CRPF convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in the Pulwama area, killing 40 personnel. In a statement, the NIA said the two had been arrested in a probe into a criminal conspiracy by top leadership of the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit to strengthen bases of the group in India. Earlier, the NIA had arrested a JeM suspect Sajjad Ahmad whom it claimed was in regular contact with these two persons over WhatsApp. The anti-terror agency registered the case on March 15 and named Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar, brother of JeM chief Masood Azhar, as the mastermind of the conspiracy to "wage war" against India.
The agency filed the FIR based on inputs regarding criminal conspiracy for strengthening base of JeM in India, raising funds, organising terrorist camps and recruiting persons for carrying out terrorist acts, harbouring JeM cadres and becoming its member. |
