The National Investigation Agency on Friday filed a chargesheet at a special NIA court in Jammu against five people for helping Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Mohammad Naveed Jat escape from a hospital in Jammu and Kashmir in February, reported PTI. The agency said the conspiracy to liberate him was hatched in the central jail where he was lodged.
Of the six, the four people identified as Mohammad Tika Khan, Shakeel Ahmad Bhat, Syed Tajmul Islam Kirmani, and Mohammad Shafi Wani. All of them are residents of villages in Pulwama district’s Kakapora tehsil.
On February 6, Jat – a close associate of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Abu Qasim – managed to escape after opening fire in Srinagar’s Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital. Two police personnel escorting him were killed.
The investigating agency said the escape was planned by Jat, a native of Pakistan, and Hilal Ahmad Rather, a resident of Pulwama. “Investigation revealed that the accused conducted meetings in the central jail, Srinagar, on different dates before the incident and a comprehensive plan was made to effect the escape of LeT terrorist Mohammad Naveed Jat,” it added.
The accused even conducted a detailed recce of the hospital and the escape routes, and also arranged vehicles and weapons, the agency said. Jat and Rather are still absconding and non-bailable warrants have been issued against them.
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