Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 18: The National Investigating Agency (NIA) was hunting two more Pakistani militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit, who had entered Kashmir along with Mohammad Naved Yaqub and Momen, the masterminds of Samroli terror attack in Udhampur, about two months back from the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara sector of the Valley.
Based on the interrogation of Naved, who was captured alive from the site of encounter at Narsu, Samroli on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on August 5, the NIA today identified both Pakistani militants, released their sketches and named them in the FIR registered in connection with Samroli attack in which two BSF jawans were killed and 13 others injured. One of the militants, Momen was killed in retaliatory firing.
Official sources told the Excelsior that a total of four Pakistani militants had infiltrated into the Indian territory from the LoC near Gulmarg in Kupwara sector of Kashmir few days before the start of holy month of Ramzan in June. They stayed together for sometime in the forest areas of Gulmarg before their handler and South Kashmir chief of LeT Abu Qasim and his deputy Abu Dujana managed to take them to safe hideouts with the help of guides.
The NIA has identified two Pakistani militants, who were still at large somewhere in the Kashmir valley, as Zargham alias Mohammad Bhai, 38, and Abu Okasha, 18, both residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The investigating agency, while releasing their sketches, has kept cash reward of Rs 5 lakh each on their heads.
Details revealed that all four Pakistani militants along with Abu Osama and Abu Dujana had hatched the conspiracy to carry out attack on security forces and Amarnath ji pilgrims on the National Highway. Both Zargham and Okasha were part of the conspiracy and plan to carry out the attack at Narsu, Samroli. The NIA has named them in the FIR No. 8/2015/NIA/Delhi and announced cash reward for their arrest.
Sources said Naved and Momen were directly involved in the attack on the BSF vehicle while Zargham and Okasha had facilitated it with the help of Abu Osama, Abu Dujana and other militants. Momen was killed in retaliatory firing by the BSF while Naved was captured alive by local people and the VDC members.
“Zargham and Okasha are accomplices of Mohammad Naved Yaqub alias Usman, who was caught alive and was accused of attacking the BSF convoy in Udhampur on August 5. They had crossed over into the Indian territory with the intention to commit terrorist attack. They are wanted in the NIA case No. 8. Any person from public, who will give any fruitful reliable information about the whereabouts of these terrorists, leading to their arrest, will be rewarded Rs 10 lakh (Rs 5 lakh for each militant). Identity of the informer will be kept secret,” the NIA said.
While Zargham and Okasha hailed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the tribal region of Pakistan, which is known for militant activities, Naved and Momen were residents of Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Sources said Zargham and Okasha were on the run and could carry out the militant attacks as they along with Naved and Momen had been assigned specific targets of attacking security forces. NIA and police have conducted raids for them at several hideouts of the LeT, where Naved and Momen had stayed but the Pakistani duo remained elusive
“Searches for these two militants were still on. All possible hideouts of the militants were being raided. The Over Ground Workers (OGWs) were being quizzed. NIA and JKP want to get the Pakistani militants dead or alive before they could carry out another highway like attack,” sources said but added that the militants had shifted their hideouts soon after the report spread that Naved has been captured alive after the encounter in Udhampur district.
It may be mentioned here that on the basis of disclosures made by Naved, NIA and police had arrested eight more persons from South Kashmir, who had given shelter to the militants.
Meanwhile, according to sources, Naved has also disclosed that he had been trained in Sainwalla camp in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) along with all three other Pakistani militants. He has also disclosed that Jammat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Sayeed and Mumbai blasts mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi used to visit the terror training camps quite often to `guide’ the militants.
Meanwhile, Naved was subjected to lie detector test today after he had made ‘contradictory and misleading’ statements about his Indian contacts and the route taken his group to infiltrate India.
Pursuant to a Delhi court order, he was brought to Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in New Delhi this morning under tight security and kept in isolation for some time before being subjected to the polygraph test.
Sources said officials from various security and intelligence agencies including the Intelligence Bureau were present during the test, whose detailed analysis is awaited.
During the test for which Naved had given written consent, he is believed to have been questioned about how many people were with him when the group infiltrated Jammu and Kashmir and people he had met and lived with during his two-month stay in the State.
Sources said Naved had been giving conflicting statements about the strength of the group and the route taken by it to sneak into India, besides those with whom he came into contact in J&K.
He had also given wrong information about the number plate of the vehicle that carried him and accomplice Noman to Narsu, Samroli, on Jammu-Srinagar highway on August 5, lest it would expose those helping LeT.
The NIA also took DNA and voice samples of Naved who was overpowered by the locals.
Sources said collecting the DNA samples of the militant from Faisalabad in Pakistan could help in proving his nationality. Islamabad has been insisting that Naved is not a Pakistani national.
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