Absconding Sajjad Bhat of Anantnag bought vehicle 10 days before attack, joins JeM
In a major breakthrough in the Pulwama fidayeen attack case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has identified the vehicle used for the deadly suicide attack. The owner of the vehicle is on the run. The 2011 model Maruti Eeco car was first sold in 2011 and changed hands seven times before finally reaching Sajjad Bhat of Bijbehara, Anantnag in South Kashmir, just 10 days before the car bombing on a CRPF convoy by the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Pulwama martyred at least 44 personnel on February 14.
“Piecing together remnants of the vehicle used by the suicide bomber in the Pulwama terror attack on a CRPF convoy from the scene of incident, NIA investigators, with the support of forensic and automobile experts, have been able to identify the vehicle used for the blast,” NIA Inspector General Alok Mittal said in a statement.
The Maruti Eeco vehicle having chassis number MA3ERLF1SOO183735 and engine G12BN164140 was sold to Md Jaleel Ahmed Haqani, a resident of Heaven Colony, Anantnag, in 2011, Mittal said. It subsequently changed hands seven times and finally reached Sajjad Bhat, son of Md Maqbool Bhat, resident of Bijbehara, Anantnag, on February 4, said the NIA IG.
Sajjad — the owner of the vehicle used by JeM terrorist Adil Ahmad Dar who drove the car from the service lane and rammed it into the CRPF convoy — was a student of Siraj-ul-Uloom, Shopian. The NIA conducted raid at his house with the help of the Jammu & Kashmir Police on February 23. However, Sajjad has since then been evading arrest and has reportedly joined JeM. A photograph has also appeared in social media where Sajjad is seen holding weapons.
The NIA has also gathered CCTV footage of the scene of crime and forensic analysis is underway to ascertain the nature of explosives used in the deadly attack in which body parts of the martyrs were strewn all across the area. The CRPF bus was transformed into a lump of mangled metal within seconds of the attack.
The agency has also gathered hardware and chats over YSMS, a mobile application used for communication by the JeM commanders and the suicide bomber as well as the team coordinating the attack.
YSMS application helps in evading surveillance by the security agencies as its signals can be tracked only within a range of 50 metres and once the app is deleted from the “dark web”, nothing can be retrieved unless the hardware/ mobile phone/VHF set is retrieved, sources said. The chats are being decoded to further unravel the larger JeM network active in the Valley.
