NIA arrests suspect in Nov 2024 grenade attack in Srinagar market that killed woman

NIA said the grenade attack was carried out by terrorists associated with IS/Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir and had cross-border links

NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Mushtaq Ahmed Ganie of Budgam district in Kashmir in connection with last year’s grenade blast in Srinagar market, which killed a woman and left several people injured, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.

Paramilitary soldiers stand guard along a street in Srinagar on 15 May. (Photo:Waseem Andrabi /HT File Photo)

The blast was carried out by terrorists associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)/Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK) and had cross-border links, a NIA officer said.

According to an officer who asked not to be named, Ganie was an overground worker (OGW) and had helped the attackers. “He was arrested on May 22 and is currently being interrogated about his other associates, including overground workers who have links with different terror groups in the Valley,” said the officer.

The grenade attack took place on November 3, 2024, at the busy Sunday market near TRC, Srinagar, which the NIA has said was carried out to create panic and terror in the region and as part of a broader strategy to disturb public order.

Yaseen, Sheikh and Naik are currently in judicial custody.

In a statement on May 3, NIA said it had uncovered possible involvement of other terror groups in the conspiracy behind the grenade attack and has found that “the trio had planned, conspired and executed the grenade attack with the intent to create panic and terror in the region”.

“The attack was part of a broader strategy to disturb public order and further the violent agenda of terrorist outfits operating with support from across the border,” it added.