Srinagar: National Investigation Agency (NIA)in a statement, has said that it had identified the vehicle used in the recent Pulwama suicide attack and added that the owner of the vehicle had joined the ranks of Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit.
A statement issued here, Monday, claimed that the vehicle used in Lethpora bombing was owned by a Bijbehara resident who had acquired the vehicle just ten days before the attack.
Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed on February 14 in the said attack as a suicide bomber of Jaish-e-Mohammad group rammed this explosive-laden vehicle into one of the buses in a convoy in Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Piecing together remnants of the vehicle used by the suicide bomber in the Pulwama attack on CRPF convoy, from the scene of incident, NIA investigators, with the support of forensic and automobile experts have been able to identify the vehicle used for the blast,” said a spokesman, in the statement.
The statement further said that a Maruti Ecco vehicle having Chassis number MA3ERLF1SOO183735 Engine G12BN164140 was sold to one Mohammad Jaleel Ahmed Haqani a resident of Heaven colony, Anantnag in 2011.
“It subsequently exchanged hands seven times and finally reached Sajjad Bhat son of Mohammad Maqbool Bhat resident of Bijbehara, District Anantnag who had acquired the vehicle on 4.2.2019,” the statement said.
“Sajjad was a student of Siraj-ul-Uloom, Shopain. A raid was conducted by NIA team at his house with the help of Police on Saturday evening. However, Sajjad was found not present in his house and thereafter has been evading arrest since then. He has reportedly now joined JeM. A photograph to this effect has also appeared in social media where Sajjad is seen holding weapons,” the statement added.
