Terrorist behind Jammu railway station bomb blast arrested after 35 years

Altaf Hussain Sheikh, a resident of Bijbehara in Anantnag, was booked under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) Jammu on Thursday arrested a terrorist evading arrest for the past 35 years for his involvement in the 1991 Jammu railway station bomb blast case, which left three dead, including two from paramilitary forces, and injured 18 civilians.

Sheikh, along with other accomplices, was involved in a bomb blast on April 2, 1991, at platform number 1 of Jammu railway station. (SOURCED)

Altaf Hussain Sheikh, a resident of Bijbehara in Anantnag, was booked under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, the Explosive Substances Act and other relevant sections of the Ranbir Penal Code at Police Station GRP Jammu. “The accused, arrested after a 35-year chase, had initially gone underground and was living with a concealed identity for several decades,” said GRP’s spokesperson of Jammu.

Sheikh, along with other accomplices, was involved in a bomb blast on April 2, 1991, at platform number 1 of Jammu railway station. During the investigation, police arrested one of the accused, Aman Ullah Khan, on the day of the blast, while the other three accused had managed to escape and could not be arrested.

They were declared absconders by a court. In the last two years, GRP Jammu, during its intensive manhunt for Sheikh, discovered him living under a fake identity as a successful businessman.