Pathankot terror attack: NIA to send fresh Letters Rogatory to Pakistan

The NIA has readied fresh Letters Rogatory (LRs) to be sent to Pakistan containing the addresses of four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists who attacked the strategic Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot in January.

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has readied fresh Letters Rogatory (LRs) to be sent to Pakistan containing the addresses of four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists who attacked the strategic Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot in January.

The LRs are being dispatched notwithstanding indications from the Pakistani side that it was not yet ready to receive Indian investigators to carry forward the probe in the January two attack that left seven security personnel dead.

Four JeM terrorists were also killed in the 80-hour gunbattle by the security forces .

The NIA had also put the pictures of the four dead terrorists on its official website and asked general public for help in identifying them.

According to official sources, the central probe agency, set up in the aftermath of 26/11 Mumbai attacks, was flooded with many emails, some of which originated from Pakistan also, giving information about the terrorists.

NIA, during its interaction with the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) of Pakistan, had sought details about the place of residence of the terrorists whose names had been shared with the visiting probe team. However, there was no response from Pakistan on the India’s request.

The five-member JIT also comprising an ISI officer had visited India from March 27 to April one during which they visited the air base and recorded statements of 16 witnesses.

During the exercise of verification of the information gathered through emails, the NIA showed the pictures and addresses to some of the jailed terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group lodged in jails here and got important inputs from them.

The address of Nasir Hussain, one of the terrorists, was located at Vehari, a town 100 kms from Multan in Punjab province of Pakistan. He is the son of Mohd Mansa and stays at House number WB-89, Mohalla Chak in the town.

Hussain was the Jaish terrorist who had called his mother Khayyam Babbar minutes before the terror group launched a suicide attack inside the IAF base on the intervening night of January one and two.

The other terrorist was identified as Hafiz Abu Bakar, son of Mohammed Fazil and resident of Gujranwala in Pakistan.

While Umer Farooq was stated to be son of Abdul Samad who stays in Madni Road, Mohalla Madisah, Shahdadpur in Sindh province of Pakistan, the fourth terrorist Abdul Qayum was the son of Mohamed Amin, resident of Chachar, Tehsil Pano Akil in district Sukkur of the Sindh province of Pakistan.

With PTI inputs