Terror operatives who helped killers arrested
*Accused taken on 14 days remand
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 2: In a major revelation that came nearly eight months after deadly carnage of minorities at Dhangri in Rajouri district, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) today said the killings were executed at the behest of three dreaded Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants and arrested two persons who were instrumental in sheltering the killers in a hideout for two months.
The NIA identified three Pakistan-based LeT militants at whose behest the Dhangri massacre was carried out as Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt, Abu Qatal alias Qatal Sindhi and Mohammad Wasim.
Two terrorist associates who were arrested today for sheltering Dhangri killers for two months in a hideout constructed for them include Nisar Ahmed alias Haji Nisar son of Mohammad Sharief and Mushtaq Hussain son of Mir Mohammad, both residents of Gursai, who were presently lodged in Central Jail Kot Bhalwal in another case registered against them at Gursai Police Station in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district.
They were produced before NIA Special Court, Jammu and were sent to 12 days NIA custody for sustained questioning to ascertain more details about the killers and their mentors sitting across the border.
Sources declined to comment as to whether the militants involved in Dhangri massacre have been killed or are still operating in Rajouri-Poonch or South Kashmir. The possibility that they might have escaped to Pakistan or PoJK after the killings is also not ruled out.
Both the accused arrested today by the NIA and taken on remand were currently lodged in Central Jail, Kot Bhalwal, Jammu. They were taken on remand as their names surfaced during investigations in Dhangri killings.
The NIA’s revelations came at a time when kin of Dhangri victims including Saroj Bala who lost her two sons in the massacre again threatened protests from Monday demanding immediate arrest/killing of the terrorists involved in killing of seven civilians of minority community at Dhangri in Rajouri district on January 1 this year.
Investigations by the NIA revealed that both the arrested accused persons were involved in harbouring the terrorists who had carried out the shocking killings of the civilians.
“They had provided logistics support to the terrorists for more than two months and had sheltered them in a hideout, which was constructed by the arrested accused persons on the directions of Pakistan based Lashkar-e- Toiba (LeT) handlers namely Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt, Abu Qatal alias Qatal Sindhi and Mohammad Qasim,” an official statement issued by the NIA here this evening, said.
The statement said a team of NIA officials camped for quite some time in the hilly terrain of Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi districts of Jammu region and examined a large number of suspicious entities.
The team later zeroed in on the two accused persons who had provided the hideout to the killers.
On January 1, 2023, five persons were killed and others seriously injured in an attack by unknown terrorists. Next day, two more civilians were killed when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by the militants at the site of carnage exploded in Dhangri.
The case was initially registered as FIR no. 01/2023 at Rajouri Police Station under Sections 302/ 307 /120-B/452/323 of IPC; Sections 13/16/18 of UA (P) Act 1967 and Section 7/27 of Arms Act.
The NIA had later taken over investigations and re-registered the case on January 13.
Further Investigations of the case are on, the NIA statement said.
Officials were, however, silent on identity of the militants responsible for Dhangri killings. Some reports suggest that they have been killed in separate encounters while others say they might be still alive and operating in either twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch or South Kashmir.
The killers, as per the official reports, were Pakistanis.
There was also a possibility that the militants might have managed to cross Line of Control (LoC) to return to Pakistan after the killings.
Three major terror incidents had rocked Rajouri and Poonch this year including Dhangri in which seven civilians from minorities were killed on December 1, Bhatta Durrian at Mendhar in which five Army bravehearts sacrificed their lives on April 20 and Kandi forests in Rajouri district in which five para commandos lost their lives on May 5.
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