Days after 26 people, including a local and a foreign national, were killed at Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has reportedly taken over the case from the Jammu and Kashmir police.
The NIA has begun its investigation into the deadly attack targeting Hindu tourists in the Valley.
According to a news agency, the anti-terror agency registered a formal FIR Saturday following an order from the Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation (CTCR) division of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The NIA team had visited the picturesque Baisaran valley on April 23, a day after the brutal terrorist attack took place. The agency was assisting the local police in the investigation before finally taking over the case.
Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba’s proxy, the Resistance Front (TRF), has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The NIA team has now intensified its investigation into the case. The team is questioning eyewitnesses of the April 22 attack.
“The teams, overseen by an IG, a DIG, and an SP from the anti-terror agency, are examining the eyewitnesses who had seen the horrifying attack unfold before their eyes at the peaceful and picturesque Baisaran valley. The eyewitnesses are being questioned in minute detail to piece together the sequence of events that led to one of the worst terror attacks in Kashmir,” NIA said in a statement.
“The entry and exit points are being closely scrutinised by the investigating NIA teams for clues to the modus operandi of the terrorists. The teams, aided by forensic and other experts, are checking the entire area thoroughly for evidence to expose the terror conspiracy that led to the horrendous attack that has shocked the nation,” the NIA statement added.