Pulwama attack: Year later, NIA reaches dead-end

New Delhi, February 14

A year after the Pulwama terror attack, the NIA seems to have reached a dead-end. It has failed to establish any conspiracy and file a charge-sheet. Officials said it was difficult to move further as five persons, who were either conspirators or executors of the attack, were eliminated in various encounters.

Except for establishing that ammonium nitrate, nitro-glycerine and RDX were used, the NIA has been unable to establish the origin of the explosives and how these were transported to the site of the attack. Pointing out that the case threw up unique challenges, one of the investigators said, “With the help of forensic tools, we could establish the owner of the car used by suicide bomber Adil Ahmed Dar. The last car owner, Sajjad Bhat of Bijbehara in Anantnag, had disappeared hours before the attack and joined the JeM. He was killed in an encounter in June last year.” The other conspirators — Mudasir Ahmed Khan, Qari Mufti Yasser and Kamran — were killed in encounters, officials said. Khan was shot dead March 10 last, Kamran on March 29 and Sajjad on June 18. — TNS