Nagrota Army camp attack: NIA arrests main accused from Delhi airport

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested Mohammad Ashraf Khandey, a key accused in the Nagrota Army camp attack case.

In a press release, NIA said, “Mohd. Ashraf Khandey, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir’ Pulwama, was arrested from the New Delhi’s IGIA while he was trying to flee to Saudi Arabia via Sri Lanka.”

“Ashraf Khandey was a co-conspirator in facilitating, harbouring and transporting a group of three heavily armed Pakistani terrorists belonging to the proscribed terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad,” the NIA added.

Notably, three Pakistani terrorists had infiltrated into India from Kathua-Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir in the intervening night of 27/28th November 2016 and carried out an attack on 166 Medium Regiment Camp, Nagrota, Jammu in the early hours of 29th November 2016. Security forces, however, eliminated all three terrorists in retaliatory action.

In its investigation, the NIA unearthed a well-planned conspiracy and busted a network of overground workers of Jaish-e-Mohammad which was responsible in facilitating Nagrota Army Camp attack. The three overground workers identified as Sayeed Munir-ul Hassan Qadri, Tariq Ahmed Dar, and Mohd. Ashiq Baba have already been arrested in the case.

“The investigation has also established the role of all the accused in providing shelter and transportation to the terrorists on the directions of leaders/handlers of Jaish-e-Mohammad based in Pakistan for carrying out the terrorist attack,” the NIA noted in its release.

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