Udhampur attack: Kulgam police arrests truck owner who transported Pak militant Naved

Srinagar: The Kulgam police on Tuesday arrested a truck owner who had allegedly transported the Pakistani militant Naveed alias Usman to Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir where he had attacked a Border Security Force bus on August 5.

"Police in Kulgam today (on Tuesday) arrested the truck owner-cum-conductor who had transported the Pakistani fidayeen to Udhampur. He has been identified as Sabzar Ahmed Bhat, 28, son of Abdul Rashid Bhat, resident of Nai Basti, Qaimooh (Kulgam)," ANI quoted a senior police official as saying.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the August 5 terror strike on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Udhampur district in which two Border Security Force troopers were killed as well as one of the terrorists, had announced a reward of Rs. 2 lakh for Sabzar's arrest.

In September, the probing agency had nabbed the truck driver who had allegedly helped Naved along with his accomplice Mohammed Noman alias Momin to Udhampur. The driver, identified as Khursheed Ahmed alias 'Surya', said to be an overground operative of the banned LeT, is a resident of Awantipura.

The NIA sources had further said Khursheed had taken Naved and his accomplice Mohammed Noman alias Momin to Jammu on July 20 on a reconnaissance mission during which the timings of convoys of BSF and Army were marked.

In his early 20s, 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.

However, the BSF has maintained that their convoy was not the intended target. News reports quoted the captured Pakistani as saying that he and his fellow militant wanted to target the ongoing Amarnath Yatra.

(With Agency inputs)