Suspect terrorist behind abortive bid to target CRPF convoy arrested

Banihal/Jammu: A suspected terrorist, who made an abortive attempt to target a CRPF convoy on Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Saturday, was arrested Monday and is being questioned, police sources said.

A CRPF vehicle had suffered slight damage when a Santro car went up in flames after an explosion at Tethar village, seven kms from Banihal, shortly after a Jammu-bound convoy crossed the Jawahar Tunnel, the gateway to Kashmir valley.

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The driver of the private vehicle managed to flee before the fire engulfed the vehicle and turned it into a mangled heap of iron.

The inspection of the vehicle and surrounding areas led to the recovery of an LPG cylinders, a jerrycan filled with petrol, gelatin stick, urea and sulphur -- material which is used for fabricating the Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), police said.

A massive hunt was launched and finally the suspected terrorist was arrested in the early hours of Monday and is being questioned, the sources said.

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The sources, however, did not reveal whether the arrest was made from Banihal or somewhere else.

A letter recovered from the scene had identified the driver as a Hizbul Mujahideen operative, who mentioned his intention to carry out a February 14 Pulwama type terror attack which left 40 CRPF personnel dead after a terrorist of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit drove an explosive-laden vehicle and targeted a CRPF convoy.

The forensic experts and a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) visited Banihal and inspected the scene to help in the investigation.

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(PTI)