NIA: Malik hid bombers’ identity from co-accused

In order to hide the identity of the Pakistani terror operatives who planted the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the Delhi high court on September 7, key conspirator Wasim Akram Malik told his fellow conspirators that these operatives were from Bangladesh.

In order to hide the identity of the Pakistani terror operatives who planted the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the Delhi High Court on September 7, key conspirator Wasim Akram Malik told his fellow conspirators that these operatives were from Bangladesh.



Besides Malik, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two more accused—Amir Abbas Dev and a juvenile—in connection with the blast that left 15 people dead.

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According to sources, Malik held meetings with his fellow conspirators in a mosque in Kishtwar between September 1 and September 5. Wasim’s younger brother and an operative of the terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Junaid, and his two HM associates—Amir Ali Kamal and Shakir Hussain Sheikh—participated in these meetings. The HM operatives also brought two Pakistanis—Ghulam Saifullah alias Abu Bilal and Saifullah—to these meetings.

Investigators claim that Dev attended at least one these meetings and it was during that time, he asked for the identity of the two Pakistanis who were supposed to plant the IED at the Delhi High Court. In order to hide the identity of the bombers, Malik told Dev that they were from Bangladesh and that’s how the NIA got the impression that the bombers might be Bangladeshis.

According to sources, Malik had entrusted Dev with the job of sending an email after the blast to claim its responsibility. Wasim provided a draft of the email to Dev on a piece of paper. On Wasim’s instructions, Dev handed over the draft to a juvenile from Kishtwar, who eventually sent the email a few hours after the blast.

The NIA is now looking for three HM militants and their two Pakistani associates, who could be associated with Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) or Jaish-e-Mohammad. “Terror operatives in J&K can no longer be divided between groups. The state has seen an amalgamation of terror operatives. Unless the NIA lays its hands on the wanted suspects, nothing can be said about their outfit affiliations,” said a source.

According to sources, Ghulam Sarwar has been operating in the state for the past many years. He is believed to be a Lashkar operative who tried to assassinate a senior army officer. He used to operate trucks and taxis in Jammu and Kashmir. Investigators suspect that he travelled to Delhi and other parts of north India in connection with his truck and taxi business.

It is also being suspected that Sarwar came to Jammu and Kashmir via Bangladesh in 2005.