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Poonch attack: Mendhar Gujjar provided shelter to terrorists for 3 months
Identified as Nasir Ahmed of Mendhar, according to sources in the security establishment, the accused not only provided logistics to the attackers but also gave them food and shelter for nearly three months
Even as security forces continued to scan the jungles of Bhata Dhurian in Poonch to track-down the terrorists responsible for the killing of five soldiers on April 20, the investigators have zeroed in on a Gujjar from the Mendhar area.
Identified as Nasir Ahmed of Mendhar, according to sources in the security establishment, the accused not only provided logistics to the attackers but also gave them food and shelter for nearly three months.
He was one among 60 suspects detained by the security forces in the past one week.
“He has confessed to the investigators that he provided them shelter for nearly three months, facilitated them with logistics and even arranged a vehicle to ferry them to Bhimber Gali on the day of attack,” said sources.
Some of the detainees were let off after questioning.Ahmed’s house in Mendhar is barely 35 km away from BG.
Five Army personnel were killed, and another was seriously injured after their vehicle was attacked by terrorists in Poonch on April 20. A massive search and cordon operation was launched after the attack and it has now spread to 12 areas across the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri.
Special forces are also engaged in the search operation, the sources said, adding the agencies are backed by drones, sniffer dogs and metal detectors.
A large spread of forest areas, deep gorges, natural caves and dense growths have been searched and the operation is now covering other places, they said.
Meanwhile, a balloon from across the border was noticed in Jhalas area of Poonch, they said.
Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi took stock of the search operation which entered its sixth day on Wednesday. “He interacted with the troops deployed in remote areas and exhorted them to be innovative and relentless in their pursuit,” the northern command tweeted.
This was the second visit of the army commander to the border districts within five days.
Earlier on April 22, Lt Gen Dwivedi had visited the attack site at Bhata Dhurian, a notorious infiltration route for terrorists from across the Line of Control because of its topography, dense forest cover and natural caves.
Sources had earlier said seven to eight terrorists spread in two groups are believed have engineered the attack.
According to initial investigation, the terrorists reportedly hid themselves in a culvert on the road from where they launched the attack on the truck which was carrying fruits, vegetables and other items to Sangiote village from the Bhimber Gali camp for Iftar to be organised by the Rashtriya Rifles.
Over 50 bullet marks were spotted on the vehicle that shows intensity of the firing by terrorists, the sources said.
The troops involved in the operation are exercising utmost caution as the terrorists may have planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the densely forested area with deep gorges and caves, they added.
The slain soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations.
Experts from various agencies including the National Security Guard (NSG) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have visited the site of the attack, the officials said.
They said a sniper is believed to have targeted the vehicle from the front before his associates showered bullets and lobbed grenades on the vehicle from opposite sides, apparently giving the troops no time to retaliate.
“The terrorists used steel core bullets that can penetrate an armoured shield,” they said adding that before fleeing, the terrorists stole the soldiers’ arms and ammunition.
