J&K News: NIA detains minor over Rajouri terror attack in J&K.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has apprehended a juvenile for allegedly “harbouring” the terrorists involved in the killing of seven civilians in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir last year, the agency said in a statement on Sunday. J&K News: NIA detains minor over Rajouri terror attack
The federal anti-terror agency said that the minor was lodged at an observation home in RS Pura town of Jammu over a different case registered in Poonch. The agency did not disclose what that case was. The minor was taken into custody by NIA on Saturday and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board in Rajouri for remand.
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Anti-Terror Agency Arrests Minor In J&K’s Dhangri Terrorist Attack Case
“Investigations by the NIA had revealed that the apprehended juvenile, along with two other earlier arrested persons, namely Nisar Ahmed alias Haji Nisar and Mushtaq Hussain alias Chacha, was involved in harbouring the terrorists who had carried out the horrendous attack,” NIA statement said.
On January 1 , 2023, four civilians—Deepak Kumar (23), Satish Kumar (45), Pritam Lal (56), and Shiv Pal (32)—were killed after unidentified armed men indiscriminately opened fire in a terror attack at Dhangri village in Rajouri. Twelve hours later, two children, Vihan Sharma (4), and Samiksha Sharma (16), died when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by the terrorists went off in the village. On January 8, Prince Sharma, who was injured in the terrorist firing, succumbed to the injuries. He was in his 20s.
NIA arrested Ahmed and Hussain on August 31 last year, and they are presently lodged at the Central Jail in Jammu.
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NIA Arrests Juvenile In Rajouri Attack Case
“The duo had provided logistic support to the terrorists for more than two months and had sheltered them in a hideout which they had constructed on the directions of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) handlers, namely Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt, Abu Qatal alias Qatal Sindhi and Mohammad Qasim,” the agency said.
An NIA team regularly camped in the Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi districts of Jammu and Kashmir in search of those behind the attack, the agency said.
“The team examined a large number of suspicious entities and later zeroed in on the above-mentioned accused persons who had provided logistic support to the terrorists,” NIA said.
After the Dhangri attack, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) began providing arms training to village defence guards or VDGs in Jammu and Kashmir to counter any terror attack in their areas. VDGs comprise local village volunteers. They were first active in the 1990s in several districts and played a significant role in self defence, assisting forces in counter-terrorism operations and maintaining vigil in respective border villages. They remained inactive for several years thereafter.
Attacks on security forces and civilians in Jammu districts have become a cause for concern for security officials, who have said that Pakistan-based terrorist groups have shifted focus to Jammu, Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi districts in a bid to ferment unrest in J&K.