NIA to probe ’23 Poonch terror attack: MHA

NEW DELHI: The government has handed over the probe into last year’s terror attack on an Army convoy in J&K’s Poonch that left five personnel dead to the National Investigation Agency, as Pak-based handlers are suspected to be behind the attack, officials said on Tuesday.

NIA officials said the process of taking over the investigation into the matter from Jammu & Kashmir Police has begun and a fresh FIR will be registered by the agency soon. Officials said the probe by NIA sleuths would ascertain any “common angle” in last year’s attack with the recent attacks in J&K. The involvement of Pak-based handlers in the case would also be looked into, they added.

On April 20 last year, five Army personnel were martyred and another was seriously injured after their vehicle caught fire following a terrorist attack in the Bhata Dhurian area under Poonch district.

The Army had then said the vehicle carrying soldiers came under fire from unidentified terrorists and it caught fire because of the likely use of grenades. The victims of the attack were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations.