Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Sept 19: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today visited Uri Brigade Headquarters of Army in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, a day after Fidayeen attack in which 18 Army personnel were killed and 23 injured. The agency will take over investigations of the attack from police tomorrow.
Police today registered an FIR in Police Station Uri (FIR No 71/16) and started investigations into the attack. The investigations are being conducted by SDPO Uri. However, NIA will take over the investigations of the case from Police tomorrow.
An NIA team led by Inspector General Mukesh Singh, SSP Atul Goel and other officers today visited Uri brigade after the mopping operation was completed by Army. They visited the crime scene and had a look at the bodies of the four Fidayeen. The bodies were later handed over to the locals for burial under tight police security.
The NIA team is stationed in Baramulla and will take over investigations of the case from Police tomorrow. This is the first investigation to be carried out by NIA in Kashmir of a militant attack. Earlier, they had investigated attack on BSF convoy last year that led to arrest and dismantling of Lashkar-e-Toiba network in South Kashmir.
In the meantime, Army today conducted massive operations in Uri near the Line of Control (LoC) on the possible infiltration routes that may have been adopted by the Fidayeen to carry out attack on Army’s Brigade Headquarters at Uri.
Army searched three ravines that cut across the LoC in mountainous terrain in Uri one of which is believed to have been used by Fidayeen to sneak into the area. The Army took two porters of Gohalan village to the Brigade Headquarters for questioning as they feel that these Fidayeen may have sneaked in through Gohalan nalla. However, they were later let off by the Army.
The troops along the LoC have also been put on alert to foil infiltration attempts by militants to sneak into Kashmir. The patrols have been intensified along entire LoC after the attack.
Army, in the meantime, completed mopping up operation inside Brigade Headquarters in Uri today and allowed an NIA team to visit the spot and have a look at the bodies of the four Fidayeen. The bodies were later handed over to the locals for burial under tight police security.
And one more Army jawan, Sepoy K Vikas Janardhan, who was airlifted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi after being critically injured in the Uri attack, succumbed to injuries today, raising the toll in the attack to 18.
Two other critically injured soldiers who were airlifted to the military hospital in Delhi are undergoing treatment. Seve-nteen soldiers were yesterday killed in the attack, while 23 others were injured.
Army today instituted an inquiry into Uri attack as preliminary investigations suggested that the Fidayeen had sneaked in a day before the attack.
The time bound inquiry will suggest measures to prevent such attacks in future. They said the inquiry will look into all possible lapses and ascertain whether it could have been prevented. It will also suggest preventive measures including realignment of army around its installations near the LoC.
In the meantime, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti led senior Army and police officers at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar in paying tributes at the wreath laying ceremony for the 18 soldiers killed in the militant attack on an Army base in Uri.
A statement issued by Army said: “Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti laid wreaths on the coffins of the martyred soldiers at a somber ceremony held at headquarters of the Chinar Corps here at Badami Bagh.”
General officer Comman-ding of the Chinar Corps Lt General Satish Dua and Director General of Police K Rajendra Kumar were among senior security officials who laid wreaths to pay their respects.
The Chief Minister later visited the soldiers, injured in yesterday’s attack, at the 92 Base Hospital of the Army.
Army later transported the bodies of all the soldiers directly to their respective hometowns. While two of the 18 soldiers hailed from Jammu, rest of them belonged to Uttar Pradesh (four), Bihar (three), Mahara-shtra (three), West Bengal (two), Jharkhand (two) and Rajasthan (one).
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