Pulwama Attack: Masood Azhar, brother named mastermind in NIA charge sheet

Chief of Jaish -e-Mohammad, and his brother Rauf Asghar have been named as Pulwama terror attack masterminds in the charge sheet by National Investigation Agency, reported NDTV.

NIA is likely to file the charge sheet on Tuesday at a court in Jammu. The 5000 page chargesheet reportedly details how the planning and execution of the terror attacks in Kashmir was done from Pakistan.

Over 40 CRPF jawans were killed when a suicide bomber rammed a security convoy with a car full of explosives in February 2019, ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

NIA charge sheet reportedly names 20 accused, including Jaish-e-Mohammad conspirators, terrorists who were killed in various operations and half-a-dozen others accused of providing logistical support. "It's a very lengthy charge sheet and we are going to file it today in Jammu court," Sonia Narang, Deputy Inspector General of NIA, reported NDTV.

According to the report, the document includes call recordings and WhatsApp chats with photos of explosives, including RDX, being transported, which were found on the phone of Umar Farooq, a Pakistan-based Jaish commander killed by security forces soon after the Pulwama attack.

Video and audio recording of Masood Azhar praising the Pulwama attack are also said to be part of the charge-sheet. Other digital imprints include a Jaish-e-Mohammed Telegram group that had a post soon after the attack claiming "100 Indian Hindu soldiers were killed and destroyed".

Masood Azhar is also wanted in India for several attacks including the 26/11 Mumbai terror.

According to the report in NDTV, main conspirators named in the charge-sheet are:

• Adil Ahmed Dar, the suicide bomber who rammed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy on February 14.
• Umer Farooq: Jaish commander who oversaw the execution of the attack and who assembled the bomb used in the attack. He was killed in an encounter in March this year along with another bomb-making expert, Kamran.
• Shakir Bashir Magrey: He allegedly drove the car used in the attack but got off around 500 meters from the attack site. His role included procuring gloves, battery and ammonium powder used to assemble the IED (Improvised Explosive Device) through an e-commerce web portal. Magrey, a furniture shop owner near the site, closely monitored the movement of security convoys and shared the details with Umer Farooq and Adil Ahmed Dar.

• Mohammed Iqbal Rather: The NIA says the 25-year-old from Budgam facilitated transport from picking up Pak-based terrorists to bringing them into Kashmir. The NIA arrested Rather in July.
• Bilal Ahmed Kuchey: Allegedly procured high-end mobile phones for Jaish, one of which was used to record a video as Adil Ahmed Dar slammed his vehicle into the CRPF convoy.

The other accused are Mohammad Abbas Rather, Waiz-ul-Islam, father-daughter duo Tariq Ahmad Shah and Insha Jan - all alleged Jaish terrorists.