NIA arrests two for harbouring ultras behind Dhangri killings

New Delhi, September 2

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two persons for harbouring terrorists who had killed five innocent civilians in Dhangri village of Rajouri district in January this year.

The duo, Nisar Ahmed alias Haji Nisar and Mushtaq Hussain, were formally arrested in connection with the previous registered case on Thursday. They were produced before the NIA special court in Jammu on Friday and were sent to 12-day NIA custody. Incidentally, both the accused were currently lodged in Central Jail, Kot Bhalwal, Jammu, in connection with another case registered at Gursai police station in Mendhar of Poonch district.

kept killers in a hideout for 2 months

• 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 — Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt, Abu Qatal and Mohd Qasim.
• According to NIA officials, they had to camp in the region for quite sometime during investigation when they zeroed in on the accused.

On January 1 this year, five persons were killed and several others seriously injured in an attack by unknown terrorists. The case was initially registered in Rajouri under Sections 302, 307, 120-B of the IPC and Sections 13,16 and 8 of the UAPA, 1967, and Sections 7 and 27 of the Arms Act.

The NIA had taken over and re-registered the case on January 13. Its investigations revealed that both accused were involved in harbouring the terrorists who had carried out the shocking killings of the civilians. They had provided logistical support to terrorists for more than two months and had sheltered them in a hideout which was constructed by the arrested accused on the directions of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) handlers, namely Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt, Abu Qatal alias Qatal Sindhi and Mohd Qasim.

During the course of investigation, a team of NIA officials camped for quite sometime in the hilly terrain of Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi districts and examined suspicious entities and later zeroed in on the aforesaid persons who had provided the hideout. Further investigation is in progress.