NIA probe reveals procedural lapses

Lack of coordination between two guard posts

Initial investigations into the terror attack on a highly guarded Army camp in Uri in Kashmir here have pointed towards several procedural lapses, including poor coordination between two guard posts.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), meanwhile, was finishing documentation in the case, besides seizing material evidence from the scene of attack

The investigators probing the deadly attack, in which 18 soldiers were killed, have found that the perimeter of the highly sensitive Brigade Headquarters of the Army was not properly fenced in several places, official sources said on Thursday.

The investigation pointed towards the possibility of the four terrorists involved in the attack having sneaked in from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) through Haji Peer Pass on the intervening night of September 16 and 17 and stayed put at Sukhdar, overlooking the Brigade headquarters, they said.

This village is at a vantage point allowing an unhindered view of the layout of the Army base and the movement of personnel inside it.

The growth of wild grass and bushes around the perimeter of the brigade is seen as one of the factors that could have facilitated undetected movement of the terrorists close to the fencing, which was cut by the ultras to sneak inside the base, the sources said.

No SOP done

Standard security procedures provide for mowing any tall grass and cutting of bushes around vital security installations, but it was not followed around the target site.

The probe also pointed towards the failure of two manned guard posts, located barely 150 feet from each other, to detect the intrusion inside the base by the terrorists, they said, adding it could have been due to lack of coordination between the two guard posts.

The J&K Police has collected call details and Internet data usage of all active cellphones and broadband connections in Uri town for the period of 24 hours prior to daring attack on the army base, the sources said. The authorities have buried the slain militants in a village graveyard close to the Brigade headquarters. — PTI