NIA Takes Over Probe on J&K Attack, Lodges Case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has formally taken over the probe into the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, sponsored by Pakistan and carried out by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) through its proxy The Resistance Front (TRF), and is "checking the entire area thoroughly for evidence to expose the terror conspiracy", the agency said on Sunday.

- Neeraj Chauhan & Mir Ehsan

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR:

The ministry of home affairs (MHA) issued an order in this regard, allowing the federal anti-terror probe agency to register a case at its Jammu branch after taking over case files from the Union territory police.

Led by inspector general Vijay Sakhare of NIA and comprising a deputy inspector general and a superintendent of police, the agency's teams have already been camping at the attack site in the Baisaran meadow, located about 5km from Pahalgam town, since Wednesday. The agency said in a statement on Sunday that "the teams have intensified the search for evidence".

Sharing the specifics of the investigation carried out till now, NIA said: "The teams, overseen by an IG, a DIG, and an SP (superintendent of police) from the anti-terror agency, are examining the eyewitnesses who had seen the horrifying attack unfold before their eyes at the peaceful and picturesque Baisaran valley. The eyewitnesses are being questioned in minute detail to piece together the sequence of events that led to one of the worst terror attacks in Kashmir".