New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday took over the case of yesterday's Udhampur terror strike, with India saying that the attack was aimed at derailing peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
In the Udhampur attack, two heavily-armed terrorists believed to be from Pakistan ambushed a convoy of BSF personnel and opened fire in which two constables and a militant were killed while another terrorist was caught alive in a manner identical to the nabbing of 26/11 attacker Ajmal Kasab.
NIA takes over probe
A team of NIA, a central probe agency created after the 2008 Mumbai attack, headed by Inspector General Sanjeev Kumar Singh, has been camping in Jammu since yesterday and has visited the site of the encounter, official sources said, as per PTI.
A case under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and various sections of Indian Penal Code has been registered against the arrested LeT terrorist Mohammed Naved Yakub, who has claimed that he hailed from Faislabad in Pakistan.
His accomplice, identified by him as Noman alias Momin, was killed in retaliatory firing by BSF.
Naved, who remained composed during the night-long interrogation, told sleuths that he had undergone two training modules--'Daur-e-Aam' and 'Daura-e-Khas' - of Lashker-e-Taiba terror group.
India condemns attack:
On the other hand, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament today, “We strongly condemn the attack and the persistent attempts by terrorists from across the border to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir”, as per IANS.
Rajnath Singh added that government was committed to combating terrorism with a strong resolve.
India is expected to take up strongly with Islamabad the terror attacks at Udhampur and earlier in Gurdaspur in Punjab, which left seven people dead, when the National Security Advisers of India and Pakistan meet as scheduled later this month.
Pakistan in denial mode
Meanwhile, Pakistan was today in denial mode over assertions from India that the terrorist caught alive in Udhampur yesterday was a Pakistani national and asked New Delhi not to make "accusations" without proof.
Foreign Office Spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said at his weekly briefing that he had seen media reports that "a person has been arrested in India and is being projected as Pakistan national".
"I will not comment on media reports. We expect Indian authorities to share necessary information about him with us to enable verification of his national status," Khalilullah said reacting to statements from India on the Pakistani origins of Mohammed Naved Yakub.
"We have said many times that making immediate accusations on Pakistan is not correct. These things should be based on facts. We expect that whenever Pakistan is being accused of something, it shall be accompanied by concrete evidence," he added.
(With Agency inputs)
