Udhampur IED blast was caused by sticky bomb
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 4: Udhampur Police have arrested a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant and his two associates in connection with the low-intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion outside a court complex in Udhampur town in March in which one person was killed and 14 others were injured.
The IED blast was caused by sticky bomb while another sticky bomb has been recovered from the possession of arrested militants.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh flanked by DIG Udhampur-Reasi range Suleman Choudhary and SSP Udhampur Dr Vinod Kumar told reporters here that a number of suspects were questioned before the investigators zeroed in on and arrested Mohammad Ramzan Sohil son of Mohammad Ishaq Sohil, a resident of Halla Bohar Dhar in Ramban district.
The other two arrested accused were identified as Khursheed Ahmed son of Mohammad Abdullah Padder of Motla Dessa in Doda and Nisar Ahmed Khan son of late Ghulam Mohammad Khan, a resident of Dhani, Bhaderwah.
Sohil confessed to planting the IED (sticky bomb) on the directions of his handler Mohammad Amin, alias Khubaib, a resident of Kathawa Thathri in Doda who is currently based in Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK), Mukesh Singh said.
The improvised explosive device blast took place on March 9 outside the court complex in Slathia Chowk where fruit and vegetable vendors put up their carts.
Sohil’s father Mohammad Ishaq Sohil was a trained militant of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and was neutralised in 2003, the ADGP said.
“Sohil was in contact with…Khubaib through social media. He was instructed to fix one sticky bomb IED at Slathia Chowk and keep another at a safe place for future use,” he said, adding that the second IED in the shape of sticky bomb has been recovered.
He received an amount of Rs 30,000 in his Jammu and Kashmir Bank account on March 23 for the blast he carried out in Udhampur as promised by Khubaib, Mukesh Singh said.
He said the amount was deposited in Sohil’s account by Khursheed Ahmed on the directions of Khubaib.
“Khursheed’s brother-in-law, named Bilal Ahmed Butt, is a trained militant of the LeT,” he said.
The third arrested accused, Nisar Ahmed Khan, was a trained LeT militant and remained active in Doda district between 2001 and 2006, he said.
On the directions of Khubaib, he picked up two IEDs — in December 2021 and January 2022 — from Belicharana in Jammu, the police officer said.
The investigation in the case was underway and more people are expected to be arrested, the ADGP said, adding 15 people have been identified for questioning in connection with various other terror incidents.
It may be mentioned here that the militants had detonated powerful IED blast at Slathia Chowk in heart of Udhampur town on March 9 in which one civilian was killed and 14 others were injured. This was after a long gap that an explosion was reported in Udhampur town.
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