NIA arrests two for providing support to infiltrators

Zahoor Ahmed Peer and Nazir Ahmed Peer, both residents of Wahama, Kupwara, in North Kashmir, were arrested from Jammu in connection with a case registered by the NIA in July last year, an NIA spokesperson said.

The NIA will seek their transit remand and bring them to Delhi for further questioning, he added.

In July last year, police in Jammu and Kashmir arrested a Pakistani national, Bahadur Ali, from Handwara in North Kashmir and recovered a large quantity of incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, from him. The case was later handed over to the NIA.

Investigations revealed that the accused persons allegedly provided material and logistical support to Ali and his associates soon after their infiltration into Indian territory, the spokesperson said.

In January this year, the NIA had charge-sheeted Ali, a member of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba terror outfit who had been arrested from Yahama village of Handwara on July 24 last year.

The charge sheet highlighted gaps along the Line of Control (LoC) as Ali along with two other terrorists had been walked undetected for seven days.

The NIA said Ali alias Saifullah Mansoor along with two associates, Abu Saad and Abu Darda, all trained terrorists, infiltrated into Indian territory equipped with arms and ammunition, navigation equipment, combat material and other articles.

The trio entered India during on the intervening night of June 12-13 last year and reached their destination only around June 20. The area is expected to be dotted by security personnel as part of counter-infiltration grid.

On June 22, Ali's two associates left to get some food, leaving Ali on a hill top. Both were killed in an encounter.

According to the NIA charge sheet, investigation had established that Ali, who is a school dropout and originally a resident of Jia Bagga Village of Raiwind in Lahore, Pakistan, was also provided a map depicting parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

He was provided with Grid References (GR) that had been recovered from his possession. Ali plotted these GRs on the map which was sent for examination to the Surveyor  General of India at Dehradun who affirmed that the terrorist had plotted them correctly.

A pocket diary recovered from Ali, among other things, listed the names of several towns in Jammu and Kashmir.