Banihal attack: J-K Police arrest two terrorists, hunt on to nab third

Mohammad Arif of Ashar village and Gaznaffar of Kaskoot village were apprehended by the J&K Police on Thursday in connection with the attack on security personnel in Banihal on Wednesday night. (Express Photo)

In a big win for the Jammu and Kashmir Police, two of the three terrorists who had attacked Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel and snatched their weapons in Banihal on Wednesday night, were arrested by the police in the early hours of Friday. The arrests came less than 48 hours after the terror attack. An SSB head constable was killed and an ASI injured in the attack.

The two arrested terrorists have been identified as Mohammad Arif of Ashar and Gaznaffar of Kaskoot village. The police said that the snatched weapons, an INSAS and an AR-41 rifle, have been recovered from the spot. The arrests came around midnight in Kaskoot area. When the accused realised they were surrounded from all sides, they abandoned both their rifles and took refuge behind the bushes near a nullah. As police zeroed in on them, they broke police cordon on one side and fled. However, the police chased them for nearly a kilometre on rugged hilly terrain and were able to nab both of them, a senior police officer said.

The police are on the lookout for Aquif of Kaskoot, the third suspected terrorist. Equipped with a pistol, Aquif was separated from the arrested terrorists after they carried out the attack on the SSB personnel on Wednesday night.

Weapons seized by the police from the site of the attack. (Express Photo)

During interrogation, the arrested revealed that they were in touch with militant outfits in the Valley. They were told to snatch a weapon from police or security personnel for their formal joining in the ranks.

Also read | Kiling of SSB jawan in Banihal a terror attack, confirm J-K Police

AN SSB head constable was killed and an ASI injured after three terrorists opened fire on them with a pistol and snatched their weapons in Nowgam area near Banihal town. The SSB personnel were returning to their camp after their duty at the site of an under construction road tunnel between Banihal and Qazigund. As they had been shot from a very close range, police initially did not rule out its being a fratricide killing. The 8.5 km long tunnel is part of road widening project of the National Highway Authority of India.

Significantly, terrorist activity has been reported in Banihal area after a long time as last time two militants were killed by police and security forces in Banihal area over six years ago.