The union home ministry has handed over the probe in the Reasi bus terror attack case in Jammu to the National Investigation Agency. The central agency will reportedly probe its link with subsequent terror attacks in Jammu.
Officials who are in the know about the development told Hindustan Times that the decision was taken during a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday. The central agency has taken over the probe registered its own FIR on Sunday.
A bus carrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi plunged into a deep gorge after an ambush by terrorists near Reasi on June 9, the day Modi 3.0 government was sworn in. The militants opened fire at the bus when it was en route from Shiv Khori temple to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine at Katra near Teryath village in the Poni area. The bus, a 53-seater, veered off the road and plunged into the deep gorge following the gunfire at around 6:15pm. As many as 9 persons got killed and over 40 persons suffered injuries in the attack.
A NIA team had visited Reasi on June 10 and assisted security forces in the probe. The national agency’s forensic team had also reached the place to aid in evidence collection from the incident site.
In the meeting held on Sunday, Amit Shah directed security agencies to replicate the successes achieved in Kashmir valley through ‘Area Domination Plan’ and ‘Zero Terror Plan’ in the Jammu division. According to a release, he directed all security agencies to work in a mission mode and ensure quick response in a coordinated manner.