Pulwama attack suicide bomber Adil Dar developed cold feet briefly J&K: Officer

Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Danesh Rana‘s book provides a detailed account of the Pulwama attack’s planning, execution and key people involved

Adil Ahmad Dar, the suicide bomber whose attack on a security convoy on February 14, 2019, lead to the death of 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), was “scared and wanted to run away from his impending death”, a new book by Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Danesh Rana claims.

A senior CRPF officer pays tribute at the Lethpora camp near Srinagar on Monday to mark the third anniversary of the suicide attack of the convoy in Pulwama, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed (WASEEM ANDRABI/HT)

The doubt, Rana suggests, arose briefly in Dar’s mind when the terrorists were waiting anxiously for the weather to clear between February 5 and 14, as the national highway was closed due to heavy snowfall.

However, the 23-year old mastermind of the Pulwama attack, Mohammad Umar Farooq Alvi, son of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar’s brother Ibrahim Athar, didn’t let Dar stray from his terror mission.

Rana’s book, As Far as the Saffron Fields published by Harper Collins, provides a detailed account of the Pulwama attack’s planning, execution and key people involved on the basis of personal interviews with several terror accused, CRPF personnel, police officers, and documents such as the charge sheet of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), statements of witnesses, scientific and material evidence, seizure memos, disclosure statements of the accused, interrogation reports, as well as the videos recovered from the mobile phones of the terrorists.

“But as luck would have it, it snowed heavily on 5 February, covering the slopes of the Pir Panjal in a white blanket. With snow about 3 feet deep, the road on both sides of the tunnel was blocked and traffic suspended, delaying the convoy for eight days. Had it not snowed on that day, we would probably have different names on the list of the dead, and another set of tragic stories,” writes Rana, who is currently posted as additional director general in Jammu and Kashmir police.

The 200kg explosive-laden crude bomb had already been fitted by Dar in the Maruti Eeco van by then, with February 6 as D Day in mind. The improvised explosive device was assembled at the house of Shakir Bashir Magray. But they had to wait now.

“Umar then called his Rauf Chacha (Abdul Rauf Asghar) and told him about postponing the operation due to the closure of the highway,” the book says.

“Umar, Sameer and Adil stayed put in Shakir’s house. Their days were full of anxiety and uncertainty. The Eeco stood in the driveway, heavy with 200 kilograms of explosives, awaiting its final journey, after which it would be scattered all over in bits and pieces. The three of them followed the news, only to get frustrated with each passing day. Umar and Sameer pretended to be calm and composed, whiling away their time by lazing around, sleeping and watching YouTube videos on their mobiles,” it adds.

Rauf Asghar, who was supervising the operation from Pakistan, asked Alvi to keep Dar in high spirits.

However, according to Rana, Dar sank into depression from which he found it impossible to emerge. “He hardly spoke, and the smile vanished from his face. He spent all of his time praying. When Shakir was interrogated later, he told investigators that Adil was scared and perhaps wanted to escape and run away from his impending death. But Umar would not let him stray. The three of them were stuck together; they couldn’t possibly have gone anywhere. They had no option but to wait for the highway to open,” Rana writes.

When the highway opened and the CRPF convoy resumed its journey on February 14, Alvi motivated Dar by telling him about the 484 ayats, or verses in the Quran that propagate jihad.

“Adil had made up his mind. He no longer looked to escape; he had no choice. He had to carry out the attack as he had volunteered to do,” the book adds.

Around 3.15pm that day, Dar rammed the bomb-laded van into the fifth bus in the convoy, causing one of the deadliest attacks in the Kashmir valley.

Rana also writes that head constable Jaimal Singh, the driver of the ill-fated bus that was blown up by Dar, wasn’t even supposed to drive that day. He was merely substituting for another colleague, who had applied for leave for his daughter’s marriage.

NIA’s probe in the Pulwama attack is already over and a thorough 13,500 page charge sheet was filed in August 2020, naming seven Pakistanis including JeM boss Masood Azhar, his brothers Abdul Rauf Asghar and Ibrahim Athar, and his cousin Ammar Alvi, apart from 12 others, including Adil Ahmad Dar, for the Pulwama attack.

Following the audacious attack, the Indian Air Force bombed a JeM training facility deep inside Pakistan, which resulted in a dogfight between fighter jets of the two nations on February 27, and brought them to the brink of a war. The incident prompted the global community to step in and call for peace amid escalating tensions.

India has already shared substantial evidence against JeM leadership with Pakistan and the international community, and Interpol red notices have been issued against them, but Pakistan refuses to take any action, people familiar with the developments say.