The two youths arrested by Uttar Pradesh ATS on February 23 from a private hostel in Deoband town of Saharanpur, have confessed to their links with Pakistan based terror outfit Jaish‑e‑Mohammad who have been instrumental in carrying out the ghastly Pulwama attack. They were possibly planning another terror attack.
Earlier also security forces were put on high alert as there were intel inputs that Jaish‑e‑Mohammad is preparing to strike again.
Meanwhile, the two alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists, Shahnawaz Ahmad Teli from Kulgam and Aquib Ahmad Malik from Pulwama, also admitted having been in touch with Pulwama terror attack mastermind Abdul Rasheed Ghazi, who was neutralised by the security forces four days after the killing of 40 CRPF jawans.
The team of the Uttar Pradesh ATS investigating the case have also claimed of receiving voice messages from the cellphone of one of the two youths, were he is being heard talking about some “bada kaam” (something big) and “samaan” (goods).
The investigators correlated the ‘bada kaam’ to a major operation that the two were planning and the “samaan” was used for weapons and explosives they would need to carry out the attack.
The Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police O P Singh, confirmed that in the four-hour long interrogation the two youths agreed to their links with the terrorist organisation. “They have confessed to their links with JeM in front of me and have given specific information based on which we are hopeful of some more recoveries in the near future,” Singh was quoted by Times of India as saying.
The inspector general of police, ATS, Asim Arun asserted that Shahnawaz had been in touch with terror outfits for 18 months while Aqib came into the scene six months ago.
Moreover, the National Investigation agency who have claimed of being close to solving the Pulwama case, says that they have enough evidence to prove that JeM had orchestrated the Pulwama attack with the support of the Pakistan army.
NIA officials claimed that they have strong evidence regarding Adil Ahmad Dar’s (the suicide bomber who perpetrated the car bombing) allegiance with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) since the time he ran away from his home.
Pakistan backed Jaish-e-Mohammad, which had been dormant in the valley for quite some time was instrumental in executing the horrific Pulwama attack which consumed the lives of 44 CRPF soldiers leaving several critically injured. India has been making several attempts ever since to avenge the dastardly attack.
