Naved Yakub to make confessional statement before court on Wednesday

Jammu: LeT terrorist Mohammed Naved Yakub, a resident of Pakistan, will make a confessional statement before a magistrate here on Wednesday regarding the role of the terror outfit in carrying out strikes like the Udhampur attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

Naved, in his early 20s, was produced before a Special NIA court here today amid tight security and later taken to Chief Judicial Magistrate where the investigating agency informed that the accused was willing to give a confessional statement, official sources said.

Naved along with his accomplice Mohammed Noman alias Momin had carried out a terror strike on a BSF convoy on August five in Udhampur killing two personnel of the border guarding force. Momin was killed in retaliatory fire while Naved was foxed and nabbed by two villagers whom he wanted to kidnap.

Earlier, NIA, which had the custody of Naved till today, had informed the special court that the accused was being taken to CJM's court for beginning the process of recording his confessional statement under 164 criminal procedure code.

Under the law, Naved was sent for two days of judicial custody after which he would be produced before a magistrate and his confessional statement would be written and videographed as well.

The accused is kept away from the probe agency for 48 hours for him to get an opportunity to rethink whether or not he wanted to give a confessional statement suo motu.

He would be produced before a magistrate assigned by the Chief Judicial Magistrate on Wednesday.

The report of his lie detector test was expected soon and the same would be provided to the magistrate who would be recording his confessional statement.

Naved was extensively questioned for over a fortnight by NIA and sleuths of intelligence agencies during which he identified the truck driver Khursheed Ahmed Bhat, who had since been arrested.

The Lashkar terrorist also provided a picture of Abu Qassim, terror outfit's South Kashmir-based commander, on whom the agency has announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh to any information leading to his arrest.

NIA has released a photograph, which it had recovered during raids at various terror hideouts in Kashmir Valley, of one of the accused identified as Abu Okasha, a resident of Khyber Paktukhwa in Pakistan. The agency also announced a cash reward of Rs five lakh on information leading to his arrest.

A similar cash reward has been announced for the fourth accomplice Zhargham who infiltrated into India with Naved and others from Gulmarg sector in the valley.

A resident of Faisalabad in Pakistan, Naved was earlier brought from Srinagar by the NIA team and was also taken to the spot of terror attack on highway at Narsu Nallah in Udhampur district.