Pampore attack: driver who ferried militants identified

No action was taken against the driver as there was no evidence against him, sources said

Eight CRPF personnel were killed when a group of militants attacked a bus carrying security forces on the Srinagar-Jammu highway on June 25. Photo: Nissar Ahmad

Security agencies have identified the driver of the car which ferried the terrorists responsible for >killing eight jawans in Pampore .

Official sources on Sunday said the driver, whose identity has been withheld, had driven four >militants of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) from Baba Reshi, 57 km from Srinagar, four days before the deadly attack on June 25 and kept them in a safe house in Pulwama district in south Kashmir.

The driver was considered an over-ground worker (OGW) of the militant outfit by the local police but no action was taken against him as there was no evidence against him, the sources said.

Sources said the four attackers infiltrated through the higher reaches of Gulmarg in north Kashmir and reached south Kashmir in a Tata Sumo vehicle.

Initially all the four terrorists had carried out a reconnaissance of the National Highway and chose the attack spot which is barely three km from Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI).

Two militants were killed by a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of the CRPF during the attack while the third was killed in a gunfight in Malwari Newa village of Pulwama district on June 30.

The fourth in the group is believed to have moved towards Shopian and Kulgam areas where dense forests provide a natural cover for hiding.