Pulwama Terror Attack: NIA Names JeM Chief Masood Azhar, Other Terrorists Operating From Pakistan In Charge Sheet

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in its charge sheet in the 2019 February Pulwama terror attack case has named terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar, slain terrorist Mohammad Umar Farooq, suicide bomber Adil Ahmed Dar and other terrorist commanders operating from Pakistan.

These are apart from the current six arrested accused.

An NIA official told IANS: "The agency will file a charge sheet (on Tuesday) against Azhar, Asghar, their slain relative Farooque, six arrested accused in the Pulwama terror attack case at a Jammu Special NIA court."

The official said that the agency has prepared a watertight case against the people named in the charge sheet along with all the irrefutable evidence, including their chats, call details to highlight the role of Pakistan in the 14 February 2019 attack in which 40 CRPF troopers were killed.

The official said that this attack was a plot hatched by the Pakistan-based terror group to project the attack as India's home-grown terrorism in Kashmir.

The agency also arrested Mohammad Iqbal Rather, 25, a resident of Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir in July. He is accused of facilitating the movement of Muhammad Umar Farooq, the JeM terrorist and a key conspirator in this case, after he infiltrated into the Indian territory in Jammu region in April 2018.

Farooq, along with others, had assembled the IED used in the terror attack.

Earlier, the NIA found that Rather was in constant touch with the Pakistan-based leadership of the JeM and was in communication with them over secure messaging applications and was also part of the transportation module of the terrorist organisation.

The other five arrested accused named in the charge sheet are Mohammad Abbas Rather, Waiz-ul-Islam, father-daughter duo Tariq Ahmad Shah and Insha Jan -- all alleged ground workers of the JeM.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)