Pulwama resident, daughter arrested for helping Pakistani terrorists carry out 2019 attack

A resident of Pulwama and his daughter have been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the February 2019 terror attack that killed 40 troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

The duo has been identified as Peer Tariq and Insha Tariq. A New Indian Express report quoting NIA sources states that the duo was arrested from Lethpora and flown down to Jammu so that the probing agency can seek their custody.

The fresh arrests were made on the basis of information provided by Shakir Bashir Magrey, who was arrested on February 28. The NIA has claimed that said the duo had helped out prime bomber Adil Ahmad Dar, overground worker Magrey, and several other members of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group before the attack took place.

Magrey, who owns a furniture shop in Kashmir, not only provided shelter to Dar but also provided him with logistical support. He had himself confessed a few days ago that he let Dar and Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Umar Farooq stay in his house.

An NIA statement read: “He (Magrey) provided shelter and other logistical assistance to the suicide-bomber Adil Ahmad Dar. He was introduced to Adil Ahmad Dar in mid-2018 by a Pakistani terrorist, Mohammad Umar Farooq and he became a full-time OGW of JeM. During his initial interrogation, he has disclosed that on several occasions, he collected and delivered arms, ammunition, cash and explosive material to the JeM terrorists, including those involved in Pulwama attack,” the NIA statement said.

On the day of the fidayeen attack of February 14, 2019, he had got off the explosive-laden vehicle when it was approximately at a distance of 500 metres from the attack site, reported the Hindustan Times. “This shows how closely he was involved in planning and execution of attack,” added this person.

An NIA official has revealed that the equipment required while making bombs -- such as gloves, battery, ammonium powder – were ordered via online shopping giant Amazon. Their probe also confirmed the explosives that blew up the car, were Ammonium Nitrate, Nitro-Glycerin, and RDX, and all of these were sourced from Pakistan.