New Delhi: Lashkar-e-Taiba’s divisional commander from south Kashmir Abu Qasim is believed to have masterminded the deadly Udhampur attack on the BSF convoy killing two BSF personnel, besides injuring others. The lone captured terrorist Mohammed Naved Yakub told his interrogators that he had been directed by Qasim to carry out the strike, the first in a decade in Udhampur. Qasim was also behind the 2013 attack on an Army convoy in which eight Indian Army soldiers were killed and has been giving security forces the slip for several years.
It was Qasim who introduced Naved to Noman, the slain LeT terrorist, and directed them about the fidayeen mission before he provided them with a truck to leave for Jammu, sources said. Naved, who is being seen as the second Ajmal Kasab, started on his terror mission on May 27 from Halan in Pakistan. Naved has confessed that he met Qasim on the sixth day of his crossing over to the Indian territory from the border by cutting a fence at Fajja top and used a GPS set to travel 18 km inside the Indian territory.
Intelligence officials said it was on June 2 that he set foot on Indian territory where he reached Babarishi. According to Naved, the logistics were fully in place for him as he got help from local LeT operatives and some civilians. Naved told his interrogators that another LeT accomplice had even visited Srinagar’s populated Lal Chowk area to receive some money.
Naved confessed that he reached Avantipura where he stayed in the house of one Javed and Fayaz for four days. It was only after he left their house, he claimed that he hid for the next 40 days in Khrew.
In a startling revelation, Naved has confessed that he met three freshly-infiltrated militants there. On July 23, a driver named Naseer picked them and dropped them to Kakapur while the three militants proceeded towards Pulwama.
Incidentally, the three terrorists had been intercepted by the J&K police but managed to flee, Naved said in his interrogation.
Naved and Noman left for Jammu and crossed the toll plaza at 2.15 am to reach Ramban where they bought two bags and eatables. After spending the night at Tamator, they had tea at a Kashmiri hotel and proceeded to carry out the strike, Naved has confessed.
The National Investigation Agency is on the trail even as security forces have begun combing operations in the region to nab the other terrorists operating in the region. The agencies are also trying to pick up any intercepts to track Qasim. A bounty has also been issued on his head by the Jammu and Kashmir police.
