Reasi bus terror attack: NIA raids seven places in J&K

Jammu, Sep 27 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday was raiding seven places in Jammu and Kashmir as part of its probe into the deadly terror attack on a bus carrying pilgrims in Reasi district in June.Officials said the local police and the CRPF were assisting the NIA during the raids.

“These raids are being carried out in connection with the Reasi bus attack by the terrorists,” the officials said, adding that the locations under investigation are connected to hybrid terrorists and over-ground workers (OGWs).Officials said that multiple teams from the NIA have been conducting searches in the Rajouri and Reasi districts since this morning.On June 9, terrorists targeted a bus carrying pilgrims from Shiv Khori temple to Katra town, the base camp town of Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi district of Jammu division.The attack was carried out at Teryath village in the Poni area of the Reasi district.Terrorists provided with logistics support by OGWs fired at the driver of the bus after which the bus dropped into a gorge.The terrorists continued firing at the overturned bus carrying men, women and children. Nine pilgrims were killed and 40 others injured in this dastardly terrorist attack.

The Resistance Front (TRF) took responsibility for the attack, but J&K Police said the attack was carried out by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit. The TRF is a front outfit meant to own responsibility for terror attacks to divert the attention of the security forces from the actual perpetrators of these terror attacks.A total of 50 suspects were detained by J&K Police in connection with the investigation of this terror attack.

The investigation of the terrorist attack was handed over to the NIA on June 17.