The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday filed a supplementary chargesheet against four operatives of militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad for allegedly plotting terror attacks across India, PTI reported. One of the accused, Sajjad Ahmad Khan, was also a close aide of 2019 Pulwama terror attack mastermind Mudassir Khan, who was killed last year in March.
The other accused charged by the agency were identified as Bilal Ahmad Mir, Ishfaq Ahmad Bhat and Mehraj-ud-Din Chopan. All of them are residents of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir.
At least 40 soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed in the attack on February 14 last year. In retaliation, the Indian Air Force bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammad camp in Balakot in Pakistan on February 26.
“Investigation has established that the accused persons are members of proscribed terrorist organisation JeM, who were planning to carry out terrorist attacks and propagating the activities of JeM,” the NIA said. “The slain terrorist Mudassir Ahmad Khan was the mastermind behind this conspiracy. He was one of the main conspirators in Pulwama terror attack as well and was killed in encounter with police and security forces in Tral area of district Pulwama J&K on March 10, last year.”
The agency said Sajjad Ahmad Khan was directly in touch with the mastermind of they attack. Bhat, it said, was involved in transportation of arms and ammunition to the group. A hand grenade was recovered from Chopan and was procured with the intention of using it against the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir to snatch their weapons, the NIA alleged.
The four were charged under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 121-A (waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the government of India) of the Indian Penal Code, and under sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosives Substances Act.
In the first chargesheet filed in September last year, the agency had named two other JeM members –Tanvir Ahmad Ganie and Muzaffar Ahmad Bhat.
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