NIA files charge sheet against 5 LeT operatives in Rajouri terror attack case

NIA files charge sheet against LeT operatives for Rajouri attack, including Pakistan-based handlers and overground workers.

The National Investigation Agency on February 26 filed a charge sheet against five Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives, including three Pakistan-based handlers of the banned outfit, in connection with an attack on civilians in Rajouri district last year.

The final report against a juvenile who was also apprehended in the case will be submitted to the Juvenile Justice Board in Rajouri, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.

Seven people belonging to the minority community were killed and several others injured when terrorists attacked Dhangri village in Rajouri on January 1. While five civilians were killed in firing by terrorists, two lost their lives in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast the next day.

The charge sheet against three Pakistan-based LeT handlers, including two top commanders of the proscribed outfit, and two arrested 'over ground workers' was filed before a special NIA court under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code.

The spokesman identified the accused as LeT handlers Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt alias Ali alias Habibullah alias Numan alias Langda alias Noumi, Mohd Qasim and Abu Qatal alias Qatal Sindhi and Nisar Ahmed alias Haji Nisar and Mushtaq Hussain alias Chacha, both residents of Gursai village in Poonch.

"While Saifullah and Qatal are Pakistani nationals, Qasim exfiltrated to Pakistan sometime around 2002 and joined the LeT terrorist ranks there," the spokesperson said.

The NIA said the three Pakistan-based handlers had orchestrated the recruitment and dispatch of LeT terrorists from across the border to target innocent civilians, particularly from the minority community in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as security personnel.