The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has formally taken over the probe into the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, sponsored by Pakistan and carried out by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) through its proxy The Resistance Front (TRF), and is “checking the entire area thoroughly for evidence to expose the terror conspiracy”, the agency said on Sunday.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) issued an order in this regard, allowing the federal anti-terror probe agency to register a case at its Jammu branch after taking over case files from the Union territory police.
Led by inspector general Vijay Sakhare of NIA and comprising a deputy inspector general and a superintendent of police, the agency’s teams have already been camping at the attack side in the Baisaran meadow, located about 5km from Pahalgam town, since Wednesday.
The agency said in a statement on Sunday that “the teams have intensified the search for evidence”.
Sharing the specifics of the investigation carried out till now, NIA said: “The teams, overseen by an IG, a DIG, and an SP (superintendent of police) from the anti-terror agency, are examining the eyewitnesses who had seen the horrifying attack unfold before their eyes at the peaceful and picturesque Baisaran valley. The eyewitnesses are being questioned in minute detail to piece together the sequence of events that led to one of the worst terror attacks in Kashmir”.
“The entry and exit points are being closely scrutinised by the investigating teams for clues to the modus operandi of the terrorists. The teams, aided by forensic and other experts, are checking the entire area thoroughly for evidence to expose the terror conspiracy that led to the horrendous attack that has shocked the nation,” NIA’s statement added.
Officials who didn’t want to be named said the federal agency and other central agencies and J&K police have already been recording the statements of the survivors of the Pahalgam attack for the past couple of days in Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal and other states, apart from interrogating dozens of overground workers (OGWs) and arrested terrorists belonging to LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and other outfits who are currently lodged in prisons.
Meanwhile, on ground forces comprising the Army, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and J&K police are hunting for the attackers.
The agencies suspect that the terrorists carried out a reconnaissance of the Baisaran meadow and security arrangements around it before April 20, according to an officer, who didn’t want to be named.
As first reported by HT on April 24, Indian intelligence agencies have already traced Pahalgam attack’s digital footprints to some safe houses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, establishing a clear Pakistan hand and suggesting that a 26/11 Mumbai attacks type control room-run operation may have been replicated.
Forensic analysis and statements by survivors have revealed that four to five terrorists were involved in the killings. They were well-equipped with automatic weapons, including AK rifles, sophisticated communication devices, and some were even dressed in military-style fatigues.
“Our intelligence intercepts suggest a direct link with operatives based in Pakistan. We have traced the digital footprint to some safe houses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, which have been the key hubs for Lashkar-e-Taiba’s previous major attacks in India that are supervised by the Pakistan army and the ISI from control centres,” an officer told HT on April 23.
There had been inputs that the Pakistan army and the ISI were actively facilitating infiltration of highly skilled terrorists of the LeT and JeM from the Line of Control (LoC) into India since January this year.
The NIA had, in February and last month, carried out extensive searches at several locations in Jammu and Kashmir to track down infiltrated terrorists and the overground workers assisting them.
It is suspected that after entering India and being provided with food, shelter, and money, these terrorists were guided by local overground workers to various locations.
The NIA itself issued a statement in March that “terrorists were believed to have made their way to the hinterland districts of Kathua, Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar, Reasi, Rajouri, Poonch, and also to the Kashmir Valley.”
The J&K police on Friday released sketches of three terrorists, including two Pakistanis — Ali Bhai alias Talha Bhai and Hashim Musa alias Suleiman — and local operative Adil Hussain Thoker, and announced a ₹20 lakh bounty on each of them.
HT had earlier reported that Musa was involved in at least three previous attacks in J&K, including the May 2024 ambush on an Indian Air Force (IAF) convoy in Poonch.
Intelligence agencies have also identified 14 terrorists — eight belonging to LeT and three each from JeM and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) — currently “active” in the Kashmir valley.