In 2017, youth alerted J&K Police of JeM's plan to conduct Pulwama-style attack, investigators to probe links

The investigators are also questioning people from the local madrassa where JeM operative Adil Dar used to go after he dropped out of class 12.

SRINAGAR: In 2017, Arju Bashir had approached the Jammu and Kashmir Police claiming that Jaish-e-Mohammad had asked him to ram a vehicle into an army convoy. The attack in Pulwama on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has brought back the 2017 complaint of the 19-year-old youth back in focus.

The investigators are approaching Bashir to ascertain if there are any common links between the JeM plan in 2017 to the attack conducted on CRPF convoy in Pulwama on Thursday in which 40 personnel lost their lives. They are trying to find if the same people who approached Bashir were involved in providing explosives to Adil Dar, the 22-year old who rammed his car into the CRPF convoy.

The investigators are also questioning people from the local madrassa where Adil used to go after he dropped out of class 12.

Agencies have learnt the Adil is likely to have used a red colour Eeco car for the blast. As per eye witness accounts, a man in a red Eeco van was repeatedly seen near the convoy. 

The four escorts in bus number three had reportedly told him at least twice or thrice to move away from the convoy but he kept swerving right and left. As per sources, he spent a minute or two trying to hit the convoy before he was finally successful in his ill-intentions and slammed the bus killing 40 personnel. He is believed to have been tailing the convoy from Jammu. 

Pakistan-based terrorists Rashid Ghazi and Kamran are likely to be the main Jaish operatives responsible for the terror attack. Both the terrorists are believed to be in and around Tral and may have conspired and trained Adil for the attack. 

Ghazi is said to have fought in Afghanistan and was handpicked by Jaish head Masood Azhar to avenge the killing of his nephews. An IED expert, Ghazi is believed to have been sent for the purpose of training locals.

The attack took place on Thursday when CRPF's 76th Battalion was returning from leave to join duty in Srinagar.