The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday apprehended a juvenile for harbouring terrorists involved in the killing of five civilians in Dhangri village of Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir in January last year.

The juvenile was incidentally lodged in an observation home in RS Pura, Jammu, in another case. He was taken into custody on January 20 by the NIA and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, Rajouri, for remand, agency sources said.

The said terrorist attack had taken place on January 1, 2023, and five persons belonging to the minority Hindu community were killed and several seriously injured. The case was initially registered under the stringent UAPA provisions and also sections of Arms Act. The NIA had taken over and re-registered the case on January 13.

Investigations by the NIA had revealed that the apprehended juvenile, along with two other earlier arrested persons namely Nisar Ahmed, aka Haji Nisar, and Mushtaq Hussain, aka Chacha, was involved in harbouring the terrorists who had carried out the horrendous attack. Nisar Ahmed and Mushtaq Hussain were arrested by the NIA on August 31, 2023, and are presently lodged at Central Jail, Kot Bhalwal, Jammu.

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, aka Sajid Jutt, Abu Qatal, aka Qatal Sindhi, and Mohammad Qasim.

A team of National Investigation Agency officials had regularly camped in the hilly terrain of Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi districts of Jammu and Kashmir in search of actual perpetrators of the offence during the course of investigations. 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.

As per sources, investigation in the case is still under progess.

Courtesy: The Tribune India:  23rd  Jan , 2024