Pulwama attack: Since its 1st purchase, terror car was resold seven times

SRINAGAR/ NEW DELHI: Taking help from forensic experts and Maruti engineers, investigators pieced together remnants of the Eeco car used in the Pulwama attack from the blast site in Lethpura, and zeroed in on Sajjad Bhat, the Jaish member who had bought the vehicle 10 days before the strike.

After ascertaining that it was a Maruti Eeco car, they used its chassis number MA3ERLF1SOO183735 and engine number G12BN164140 to trace its original owner. While a photograph circulating on social media introduces Bhat as a resident of Marhama Sangam in Islamabad, the NIA confirmed that he was a resident of Bijbehara in Anantnag district.

Bhat’s father, Mohammad Maqbool Bhat, is in his fifties and was arrested for engineering violence in the wake of terrorist Burhan Wani’s killing. He has been questioned by the investigators for leads on his son’s associates and others in his circle of friends. Bhat’s mother is from Tral, Burhan Wani’s hometown which was hit by violence after his killing.

The NIA said one Jaleel Haqani had bought the Eeco car in 2011 but he sold it to another person after using it for some time. Since its first purchase, the car was resold seven times. The antecedents of the car’s previous six owners were verified by the agency but their involvement in the terror attack was not found.