Officials said call recordings, WhatsApp chats, pictures and videos detailing the conspiracy have been recovered from the phones of the accused.
- CNN-News18
- Last Updated: August 25, 2020, 12:32 PM IST
The National Investigation Agency is set to file a 5,000-page chargesheet in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack case on Tuesday, detailing the Jaish-e-Moahmmed conspiracy, the procurement of explosives and the identity of terrorists who carried out the attack and their helpers.
As many as 20 terrorists, including JeM’s Maulana Masood Azhar, Rauf Azghar and other Pakistan-based conspirators, are likely to be named as accused for the worst terror attack on security forces in Kashmir Valley, resulting in the killing of 40 CRPF soldiers.
The chargesheet will be filed in the special NIA court in Jammu. The NIA has relied on scientific and digital evidence to prepare its case as the investigation lasted more than 18 months.
Officials aware of the developments said call recordings, WhatsApp chats, pictures and videos have been recovered from the phones of the accused.
A key conspirator in the attack, officials said, was Umer Farooq, who entered India in April 2018. Farooq was allegedly the main assembler of the IED used in the attack. He was killed in an encounter on March 29, 2020 along with IED expert Kamran.
Sources said WhatsApp messages have been found in Farooq’s phone where he tells his Jaish handler in Pakistan that explosives have safely crossed over to India. A video recovered from his phone also shows terrorists actually cutting the border fence and crossing over on a moonless night, they said.
A lot of questions had been asked of the NIA for failing to answer where the explosives used in the attack came from. Officials said the agency will answer this in its chargesheet, and will include details of the kind of explosives too. News18 had earlier reported that NIA said RDX used was bought in Pakistan.
“They (attackers) carried it on them, in their backpacks along with their guns and other things. Total quantity of RDX used was less than 20kg,” an officer had said.
Besides the evidence found on the phone of the accused, officials said footprints of infiltrating groups crossing the international border in the Jammu sector has also been found. According to the NIA, the attackers infiltrated India via the international border in Samba area.
Adil Ahmed Dar, who had driven the ammunition-laden car into the CRPF truck, was a local Kashmiri, but NIA pins blame for 20 kg RDX used in the terror attack on Pakistan. The IED used in the attack was assembled with locally procured ammonium nitrate and nitro-glycerin, in addition to the RDX, officials said.
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