On 9th June, terrorists attacked a bus of Hindu pilgrims in Reasi, Jammu and Kashmir. Nine pilgrims were killed in the attack and several others were injured. During investigation into the attack, the agencies have found that a local resident, identified as 45-year-old Hakam Din, helped the terrorists from Pakistan with logistic support after the attack. He was paid Rs 5,000 for the same.
The investigation agencies have prepared sketches of two more terrorists based on the information provided by Hakam Din. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has transferred the investigation from Jammu and Kashmir police to National Investigation Agency in the case.
Hakam Din is a resident of district Rajouri. He was arrested by the police on 20th June. Reportedly, he used to work as a porter at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine but left the job three years ago and became a cattle trader. Senior Superintendent of Police Mohita Sharma deemed Hakam as a “prime militant associate” before the investigation was handed over to NIA.
Following his arrest, Hakam Din was interrogated by several agencies. Indian Express quoted an unnamed source familiar with the development saying, “He claims he first met the terrorists around 5.30 PM on 1st June, when they knocked on his door and asked him to prepare food for three people. One of them was referring to another as ‘Manzoor bhai’. They asked him to bring food to their shelter in a forest.” Notably, during interrogation by NIA, Hakam Din revealed that LeT terrorists were behind the attack.
The source added, “On 7th June, the three terrorists again visited his house, and asked him to accompany them for a recce to Pouni, where the attack took place. They were there for around three and a half hours. They sat in different spots to pick a strategic location for the attack, and to identify the slope of the road where the vehicle would slow down. They marked these locations before leaving. They also asked Hakam about the movement of tourist buses.”
On the next day, the terrorists again visited his house for tea and discussed the attack. The source said, “They left with food. On 9th June, they returned to their marked locations and waited for a specific bus carrying pilgrims. They first targeted the driver and did not stop firing even after he lost control of the bus, which plummeted into a gorge.”
Following the attack, terrorists paid Hakam Rs 5,000 and asked for his help to escape. They also took his Aadhaar card. The source added, “With the help of the description provided by him, we have prepared two new sketches of the attackers and shared them with central investigation agencies. Based on his questioning, we suspect the terrorists infiltrated from across the Line of Control and are still hiding in the dense forests.”
Terrorist attack on Hindu pilgrim bus in Reasi
On 9th June, nine people were killed and 41 injured when terrorists opened fire at a 53-seater bus, which was on its way from the Shiv Khori temple to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra. This caused the bus to veer off the road and fall into a deep gorge in Reasi. The Reasi attack was followed by two other back-to-back terror attacks in the valley, the Kathua terror attack and the Doda terror attack.
On 13th June, as many as 50 people were detained in connection with the recent terrorist attack on a pilgrims’ bus in the Kanda area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi. The SSP also revealed that the search operations were extended to Arnas and Mahore to uncover more evidence and apprehend any terrorists in hiding.
Notably, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the investigation into the Reasi terror attack case on June 15 on orders from the Union Home Ministry.
On 9th July, it was reported that NIA established that handlers of the Pakistan-based banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) were involved in the ambush. NIA interrogated Hakim Din who revealed LeT’s hand in the attack.
