A day after a deadly attack in Srinagar on a CRPF convoy in which two jawans were killed and two others injured, the Jammu and Kashmir police said on Friday that it had cracked the case by arresting two over ground workers of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. The three terrorists responsible for the attack, however, remain on the loose. Vijay Kumar, inspector general of police (IGP), Kashmir Range, told the media that the Lawaypora attack case was solved as police had arrested two OGWs and the local LeT terrorist involved in the act had also been identified. The IGP said that the vehicle used in the attack had been seized.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the wreath-laying ceremony of the two CRPF men at the recruit training centre (RTC), Humhuma, in Srinagar. One of the injured jawans is reportedly critical. The IGP said that the police worked tirelessly immediately after the attack and identified the three local men who were involved.
“Two OGWs who were identified as Muzaffar Ahmed Mir and Javaid Ahmed Sheikh provided logistical support to one Lashkar militant Nadeem Abrar Bhat, a resident of Narbal, Budgam,” he said.
The IGP said that Nadeem is a close relative of OGW Muzaffar.
He said that the trio had conducted a recce of the area on March 24 after which they chose and plotted the target on Thursday afternoon. A CRPF vehicle for a road-opening party was attacked, resulting in two fatalities, he said.
The police arrested Javaid Sheikh first along with the Maruti car (HR 10 Q-6583) in which some empty cartridges were also recovered.
His questioning led to the arrest of Muzaffar. Raids were conducted on two hideouts, Nadeem and two terrorists had fled after coming to know about the arrest of Muzaffar and Javaid,” the IGP said.
Kumar said that a weapon was whisked away from the spot but maintained that it would be found soon.
Kumar said there is terrorist movement on the national highway on the city’s outskirts as it connects Srinagar with the rest of the Kashmir districts.
The Lawaypora area has seen three attacks in the past few months. ”We will see how the area becomes difficult for terrorists to carry out their activities,” a CRPF officer told News 18.