NIA arrests key conspirator behind Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF soldiers were martyred

In a significant development on Thursday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has made another arrest in the 2019 Pulwama attack case in which 40 CRPF jawans were martyred. The accused has been identified as Mohammad Iqbal Rather and had facilitated the movement of JeM terrorists and is said to be a key conspirator in the case. Rather had infiltrated into Jammu back in April 2018 through the National Highway near International border to South Kashmir. 

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Mohammed Iqbal Rather had been undergoing judicial custody since September 2018 in another Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) related case investigated by NIA. Following his release, he was produced by the jail authorities before the NIA Special Court, Jammu on Thursday and has been NIA custody for the next 7 days. 

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The initial examination has revealed that Iqbal Rather was in constant touch with Pakistan-based leadership of JeM and was in communication with them over secure messaging applications. Mohd. Iqbal Rather was part of the ‘transportation module’ of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist organisation. With this arrest, NIA has so far arrested 6 accused persons in this case. The investigation is still in progress. 

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Pulwama Attacks 

On February 14, 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora (near Awantipora) in the Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. 40 CRPRF soldiers were martyred in the attack. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed. 

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