A Pakistani militant was captured and another killed after they attacked a Border Security Force convoy in Udhampur on Wednesday morning. Two BSF jawans lost their lives and eight were injured in the terror strike.
The suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, identified as Mohammad Naved, 20, from Ghulam Mohammadabad in Pakistan told interrogators that he had infiltrated into India in a group of four. Noman, alias Nomi, who was shot dead, was from Bahawalpur in Pakistan. The Jammu and Kashmir Police have launched a search for the two at large.
The attack comes nine days after the Gurdaspur terror strike in Punjab. Investigators have ruled out any link between the two attacks. This is the first time after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks that a terrorist is being captured.
Preliminary investigations revealed that they sneaked into Indian territory by cutting a fence on the Line of Control in the Kupwara-Baramulla sector a few days ago. They made an unsuccessful attempt at infiltration two months ago, before the start of Ramzan, but went back after a guide did not turn up to receive them.
Long journey Naved told interrogators that after crossing the border, the group took a week to reach Tanmarg-Baba Rishi in the Valley.
They then stayed in a tunnel-type place in the Awantipur-Pulwama sector and later moved to Kulgam. Here, the group split into two. On Tuesday night, Naved and Noman travelled in a truck and stayed the night in a dhaba (an eatery) at Patnitop.
On Wednesday morning, they hitched a ride on another truck and got down at Simroli on the National Highway in Udhampur. One of the terrorists took position on a hillock and the other stood along the road. As the driver of a BSF bus applied the brakes, the armed assailant opened fire, attracting retaliation. The terrorist sustained bullet injuries and collapsed, following which the other on the hillock started firing.
Civilians overpower Pakistani terrorist
The two militants who attacked a Border Security Force convoy in Udhampur on Wednesday noticed the movement of Army convoys from Simroli on the National Highway, the only route connecting Jammu and Srinagar, close to the Amarnath Yatra route. An official said an alert was sounded a month ago that highways would be targeted and the State police were on alert.
“The BSF bus was attacked and the jawans opened fire in retaliation. One of the terrorists was killed and the other ran away and later took three civilians hostage. The civilians subsequently overpowered the terrorist and he was handed over to the local police,” said D.K. Pathak, Director-General, BSF.
A senior official said Mohammed Naved, the militant from Pakistan who was captured, had given different names during the interrogation. First he said he was Kasim Khan, but then changed it to Usman before stating that he was Mohammed Naved, who has two brothers and a sister. One of his brothers is a lecturer at J.C. College in Pakistan.
PTI reported that Naved presented a strange picture before television cameras, smiling a few times and answering questions calmly, telling presspersons, “It’s fun doing this.” Had he been killed, it would have been “Allah’s doing,” the news agency quoted him as saying.
