The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday got vital digital clues about the involvement of Pakistan-based terror handlers in the infamous Dhangri terror attack in which seven civilians were killed by terrorists on January 1 and January 2 this year.
The NIA conducted raids at the premises of several suspects in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir in connection with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) attack in Dhangri village of Rajouri district, in which seven civilians including two minors were killed.
According to the spokesperson of NIA, raids were conducted today at five locations across Gursai village of Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district.
NIA teams made extensive searches at the locations, which were the residential premises of Overground Workers (OGWs) linked with LeT, a proscribed terrorist outfit.
Several digital devices and documents containing incriminating data and content have been seized and are being scrutinized for unraveling the conspiracy.
Raids were conducted after disclosures made by two arrested OGWs
According to reports, raids were conducted following disclosures made by two arrested Over Ground Workers (OGWs) namely Nisar Ahmed alias Haji Nisar and Mushtaq Hussain. The duo were formally arrested on August 31 and were currently lodged in Central Jail, Kot Bhalwal, Jammu, in connection with another case registered at Gursai police station in Mendhar of Poonch district.
Nisar Ahmed and Mushtaq Hussain are said to have sheltered two terrorists for two months in a hideout in Rajouri. Both did so on the directions of Pakistan-based LeT handlers namely Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt, Abu Qatal, and Mohd Qasim.
NIA CONDUCTS RAIDS AT LeT OVERGROUND WORKERS’ PREMISES IN POONCH IN DHANGRI ATTACK CASE pic.twitter.com/xWsz5nyO0x
— NIA India (@NIA_India) September 30, 2023
NIA investigations have revealed that both the arrested accused had harboured the terrorists who had carried out the deadly attack. They had provided logistics support to the terrorists for more than two months and had sheltered them in a hideout that they had built.
Seven civilians including two minors were killed in twin terror attacks
Seven people including two minor children were killed and 14 injured as terrorists attacked Dhangri on January 1 and January 2. While five people, including two brothers, were killed in the firing by terrorists, two children died when an improvised explosive device (IED) left behind by the attackers went off the next day.
Big security lapses were exposed when terrorists managed to trigger blasts through IEDs in the same house the next morning where they killed two persons on the previous evening.
While four people were gunned down on January 1 evening, two children were killed and several others injured after a suspected Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast occurred in the same vicinity in Rajouri's Dangri village on January 2 morning. One injured later succumbed to his injuries in Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu.
