JAMMU: The Union home ministry has handed over the investigation of the June 9 Reasi bus terror attack to the National Investigation Agency, official sources said on Monday. The attack took place near the Teryath-Pouni axis and resulted in the deaths of nine pilgrims and injuries to 41 others.
“The decision to hand over the probe to NIA was taken after a high-level meeting chaired by home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on June 15,” the sources said.
“The NIA took over the case from Jammu and Kashmir police and registered an FIR in the matter following orders issued by the home ministry in view of the seriousness of the incident,” they added.
J&K police have announced a Rs 20 lakh reward for information on the terrorists and have also released a sketch. Police also have detained around 50 people in connection with the probe. At the same time, to ensure a comprehensive investigation, the search operation to track down the terrorists has been expanded to cover the far-flung areas of Arnas and Mahore in Reasi district, which were terrorist hotbeds between 1995 and 2005.
NIA already is investigating cases related to terror activities, terror funding and drone-dropping of drugs and weapons (from Pakistan) in Jammu and Kashmir and, in many cases, has filed chargesheets against the accused and attached their properties.
At present the major terror-related cases handed over to NIA include the Dhangri terror attack of Jan 1-2, 2023, in which six people were killed and several others seriously injured; a suspicious blast in a bus parked at the old bus stand in Udhampur on Sept 30, 2022; drone-dropping of weapons from across the border in Kathua on May 29, 2022; an explosion on the Air Force Station Satwari campus in Jammu on June 27, 2021 in which two Air Force personnel were injured and office buildings damaged; the Suketar terror attack of Sept 2018; and the Nagrota terror attack when a group of terrorists wearing police uniforms barged into the officers mess complex and killed an officer and three jawans on Nov 29, 2016.
“The decision to hand over the probe to NIA was taken after a high-level meeting chaired by home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on June 15,” the sources said.
“The NIA took over the case from Jammu and Kashmir police and registered an FIR in the matter following orders issued by the home ministry in view of the seriousness of the incident,” they added.
J&K police have announced a Rs 20 lakh reward for information on the terrorists and have also released a sketch. Police also have detained around 50 people in connection with the probe. At the same time, to ensure a comprehensive investigation, the search operation to track down the terrorists has been expanded to cover the far-flung areas of Arnas and Mahore in Reasi district, which were terrorist hotbeds between 1995 and 2005.
NIA already is investigating cases related to terror activities, terror funding and drone-dropping of drugs and weapons (from Pakistan) in Jammu and Kashmir and, in many cases, has filed chargesheets against the accused and attached their properties.
At present the major terror-related cases handed over to NIA include the Dhangri terror attack of Jan 1-2, 2023, in which six people were killed and several others seriously injured; a suspicious blast in a bus parked at the old bus stand in Udhampur on Sept 30, 2022; drone-dropping of weapons from across the border in Kathua on May 29, 2022; an explosion on the Air Force Station Satwari campus in Jammu on June 27, 2021 in which two Air Force personnel were injured and office buildings damaged; the Suketar terror attack of Sept 2018; and the Nagrota terror attack when a group of terrorists wearing police uniforms barged into the officers mess complex and killed an officer and three jawans on Nov 29, 2016.
