Vehicle Used In Pulwama Attack Was Mini-Van, Owner On The Run

Vehicle Used In Pulwama Attack Was Mini-Van, Owner On The Run

The NIA said it has made a significant breakthrough in the probe into the suicide car bombing that killed over 40 CRPF soldiers on Jammu-Srinagar highway

Pulwama terror attack: Over 40 CRPF Soldiers were killed in the terror attack


New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency today said it has made a significant breakthrough in the probe into the suicide car bombing that killed over 40 CRPF soldiers on Jammu-Srinagar highway on February 14. The vehicle used in the Pulwama attack was a mini-van and its owner is on the run, the NIA said in a statement today.

Piecing together the debris of the vehicle used by the suicide bomber, who belonged to the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, the NIA with the help of forensic and automobile experts were able to identify the vehicle, the probe agency said in the statement.

A Maruti Ecco vehicle that was sold to a resident of Heaven Colony in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag in 2011 was used in the attack, the NIA said.

The mini-van subsequently exchanged hands seven times and finally reached Sajjad Bhat, a resident of Anantnag in south Kashmir, who was not found at his home when a team of the NIA and the Jammu and Kashmir Police raided his place on February 23, the NIA said.

The accused has been evading arrest and he has reportedly joined the Jaish-e-Mohammed, the probe agency said, adding a photograph of Sajjad Bhat also appeared on social media where he was seen holding weapons.

The Pulwama car bombing was the worst terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since the start of the century.