Pulwama attack: Maruti team sifts through debris to trace vehicle history

A team from automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki is helping the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to determine the model and year of production of the Maruti Eeco vehicle that was used in the suicide bombing of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy last week, said officials.

The second aspect of the probe is focusing on questioning of around a dozen suspects that have been picked up in Jammu and Kashmir since the attack. The case was formally transferred to the federal anti-terrorism agency on Tuesday.

“The Maruti team visited the site of attack on Monday and sifted through the remnants of the Eeco vehicle used in the attack. Some of the remnants have markings and numbers. The manufacturer is looking into its computerised data bank to find out when those parts were used in the assembly line to manufacture that particular Eeco. Once it is know it will easy to trace the journey of the vehicle to dealer and customer and also ownership details from the registering authority,” said an official of the NIA who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The officer added that based on preliminary assessment, the agency is now more of less certain that it was a Maruti Eeco vehicle that was used in the attack and also that the explosive used was RDX to create what the investigators are calling a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).

Another investigator added that following the attack, which killed 40 CRPF personnel on February 14, around a dozen suspects were picked up for questioning to check whether they were in any way connected with the attack or the bomber, Aadil Ahmad Dar.

“Their questioning is on,” added the investigator who spoke on condition of anonymity. The investigators have found pieces of a plastic can from the blast site but they said it could be early to conclude whether it was used for storing the explosive.

First Published: Feb 19, 2019 23:03 IST