Investigating teams of Jammu & Kashmir police on Friday claimed to have identified owner of the Santro car which was likely to be used by the suicide bomber to target a security convoy or any other vital installation in Kashmir valley.
The car was believed to have been fabricated by an IED expert, identified as Mohd Ismail alias Fauji Bhai of Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit. He is believed to be a close relative of Jaish-e-Mohammad Chief, Maulana Masood Azhar. His name had also figured during investigations in the Pulwama terror attack. Police is currently working on the vital leads to track down the footprints of active Over Ground workers who may have provided logistics support to the IED expert Fauji Bhai while fabricating the vehicle borne IED.
Though, no formal statement was issued by the Jammu and Kashmir police but officers privy to ongoing investigations revealed the owner of the explosives-laden car which was intercepted in Rajpora area of Pulwama on Thursday, has been identified as Hidayatullah Malik.
According to police officers, Malik is a resident of Shopian and had joined the Pakistan-backed terror group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in July 2019. Some of the close relatives of Malik have also been detained by the police to piece together the details of the conspiracy hatched by the top commanders of different terror outfits in Kashmir valley.
Meanwhile, DG CRPF , Dr A.P Maheshwari , Friday commended the role of CRPF in foiling a major terrorist attack in Pulwama, and has also announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for the CRPF team involved in the Operation. Complimenting the role of CRPF, DG CRPF also announced award of Commendation Disc and certificates to the deserving CRPF Officers and Men involved in the Operation.
According to CRPF spokesman, DG CRPF appreciated the synergy amongst the Forces in handling the security situation in Kashmir.
Zulfiquar Hasan, Special DG J&K Zone, CRPF met with the CRPF team of officers and men involved in the operations , presented the cash reward on behalf of the DG and lauded the exemplary efforts put in by the personnel.
