NIA takes over Pulwama terror attack probe from J&K police

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over probe into the Pulwama terror attack from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) police, officials said Wednesday. The agency has re-registered the case in the matter and formed a team to investigate the suicide attack, an NIA spokesperson said in New Delhi.

The J&K police had registered a case at the Awantipora police station on 14 February after a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) operative rammed an explosives-laden car into a bus ferrying CRPF jawans—killing at least 40 of them. The bus was part of a larger convoy travelling from Jammu to Srinagar.

NIA has already collected traces of explosives from the Pulwama attack site and is questioning around a dozen people detained by the J&K police in the matter, said officials. NIA has also met senior police, intelligence and army officers to gather whatever evidence they have, the officials said.

The agency will also investigate how the Pulwama attack was planned and executed.

On Monday, three JeM terrorists were killed after a 16-hour operation in Pulwama's Pinglan area, 12km from the site of the February 14 attack. An army major and four security personnel also lost their lives. A day later, the police and the army announced that the slain terrorists were responsible for the Pulwama terror attack.