Sources said the agency is trying to corroborate the information given by Usman and gather more details about the plans of the militants.
The NIA-led probe into the Udhampur terror attack has revealed role of Abu Qasim alias Abdur Rehman, the Lashkar-e-Taiba 'commander' of south Kashmir. The disclosure was made soon after NIA on Friday arrested a truck driver, who allegedly ferried the captured LeT gunman, Naved to Jammu on two occasions. The driver, is said to be a resident of south Kashmir's Chursu village in Awantipora district.
The NIA and Jammu and Kashmir police have also detained three people for questioning in Redwani village of Kulgam district sparking protests and clashes in the area. Three people were detained following the information given by Pakistani militant Mohammad Naveed alias Usman, captured alive after Udhampur terror attack, during interrogation to NIA.
All of them are being questioned at an undisclosed location. Sources said the agency is trying to corroborate the information given by Usman and gather more details about the plans of the militants. Clashes broke out in the area after the news of the three being taken into custody spread in the locality.
The probe agency on Friday stated that Qasim, had arranged logistics for the four Pakistani militants who later on carried out an attack on a BSF convoy on August 5. The logistics, according to the NIA, go beyond accommodation, food and transportation for the militants. NIA officials told dna that Qasim might as well be one of the masterminds of the Udhampur attack as it has come to fore that he was responsible for arranging resources, identifying targets and arranging transport . "The driver must have been briefed by Qasim, especially in the area of identifying targets," said an NIA official.
The driver was identified as Khursheed Ahmed alias 'Surya', who is said to be an overground operative of the LeT. Khursheed, 35, is a resident of Awantipura in south Kashmir, the region in which Qasim is believed to be operating as a 'commander' of the LeT .
Officials said that Naved was ferried to Jammu on two occasion, including on August four, a day before he and his accomplice Mohammed Noman alias Momin ambushed a BSF bus, killing two of its personnel. Naved later tried to take three hostages who overpowered him and handed him to the police.
According to officials Khursheed had taken Naved and his accomplice to Jammu on July 20 on a reconnaissance mission during which the timings of convoys of BSF and army were marked. The agency now believes that Qasim might have briefed the militants as well as the driver before launching the attack.
Qasim, aged 27-28 years, is believed to be a resident of Bawalpur in Pakistan. NIA declared cash reward of Rs10 lakhs for arrest of Qasim who photograph has been obtained by the agency. The driver meanwhile will be produced before the Special NIA judge in Jammu for obtaining his police custody for further investigation. Khursheed has already served a prison term of two-and-a-half years on charges of smuggling narcotics.
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