The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested a key accused absconding in the Nagrota Army Camp attack case. The person has been identified as Mohammad Ashraf Khandey, a resident of Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir.

He was arrested from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi while he was trying to flee to Saudi Arabia via Sri Lanka.

According to NIA, 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 three terrorists had infiltrated into India from Kathua-Samba sector of Jammu & 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.

The Army had neutralized three Pakistani terrorists in retaliatory action. Geelani was also media advisor of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (Geelani faction). 

The investigating agency has named him in the terror funding case in which Hafiz Saeed and Syed Salahuddin among 10 other Kashmiri militants are accused.

In its investigation, the NIA unearthed a well-planned conspiracy and busted a network of Over Ground Workers of Jaish-e-Mohammad which was responsible in facilitating this attack.

Three accused, namely Sayeed Munir-ul Hassan Qadri, Tariq Ahmed Dar, and Mohd. Ashiq Baba have already been arrested in the case.

The investigation has 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 said in its release.