Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh on Sunday said none of the nine suspected suicide bombers, who carried out the serial bomb blasts in Sri Lanka on April 21, had visited the Valley, reported PTI. The Army chief of the island nation had claimed that some of the suspected attackers had travelled to three Indian states, including Jammu and Kashmir.
“We have checked and there is no information about them having visited here,” Singh told PTI. He added that they rechecked immigration records also. The Jammu and Kashmir Police said they have checked the details of people whose names appeared on social media as Sri Lanka has not informed anything through diplomatic channel.
On Thursday, Sri Lankan Army commander Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake told BBC that “they [the suspects] have gone to India, they’ve gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they’ve travelled to Kerala state. Those are the information available with us.” He claimed that some of the suicide bombers visited Kashmir and Kerala for “some sorts of training” or to “make some more links”.
An unidentified security agency official, however, said there was a possibility of the bombers visiting Jammu and Kashmir using pseudonym. He added that if could be verified only if Sri Lanka hands over some evidence.
A group of suicide bombers carried out a series of blasts at churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on April 21, killing at least 253 people. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Two other local Islamist groups – the National Thowheed Jamath and the Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim – are suspected to have links to the blasts. They have now been banned.
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