NIA May Take Over Probe Into Reasi Terror Attack As Search Ops Intensify

THE National Investigation Agency (NIA) swiftly responded to the scene of a horrific terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir's Reasi district, where a passenger bus was ambushed by terrorists on Sunday evening, resulting in the loss of nine lives and leaving 35 others injured.

-  FAYAZ WANI MUKESH RANJAN

Officials from the agency immediately joined forces with local police to initiate investigations, with plans for the NIA to assume full control of the probe as it progresses.

Security forces launched an extensive cordon and search operation to hunt down the perpetrators. The attack targeted a 53-seater bus en route from the Shiv Khori temple to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, carrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi. Witnesses recounted a barrage of gunfire directed at the bus, causing it to careen off the road and plunge into a deep gorge near Teryath village, Poni area.