Srinagar, Feb 19: A top police official on Friday said that three newly recruited militants, who wounded the son of the owner of famous Krishna Dhaba in Srinagar on Wednesday, were arrested along with a pistol in south Kashmir.
“The attack on the Krishna Dhaba owner’s son Aakash Mehra inside the restaurant on Wednesday evening was carried out by three motorcycle-borne youth. Two of the three youth went to the cash counter of the eatery and fired at Mehra, who was critically injured,” Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar told reporters during a press conference. He said the youth later fled from the spot on the bike. “It was a sensitive issue for the police force as this location witnessed heavy rush of tourists. The shops in this area remain open even during strikes,” he said. Giving details, Mr Kumar said that police received information from a civilian that the attackers had come on a motorcycle, following which the CCTV footage of the areas was checked and various leads were followed. He said the youth who carried out the attack were identified and their parents were called for questioning. “They (parents) confessed that their children had carried out this attack and have fled after abandoning the bike,” he said, adding the phones of the youth were kept on surveillance. The IGP said one of the youth called his family from a labourers phone to inform them that they are going to Pahalgam area in south Kashmir. “We listened to their conversation and following swift action by security forces two of them were apprehended,” he said.
Mr Kumar said that during on the spot questioning, the militants gave away the location of the third person involved in the crime. “A team was rushed to Pulwama and the third accused was arrested,” he said, adding a pistol used to carry out the attack was also recovered.
He said the trio was recruited by a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander Gazi, who had tasked them to carry out attack at Krishna Dhaba as the foreign delegation was in the city. “Gazi had instructed the trio to carry out the attack at a place which created maximum news in view of the visit of the delegation,” he added.