The Centre has handed over to the NIA investigation into the November 19 encounter at Nagrota in Jammu. The agency has registered an FIR after taking case papers from Jammu and Kashmir police which was probing the case until now.
Sources said the case was handed over to NIA as it has cross-border implications and a federal agency would be better suited for a case where the hand of Pakistan is prima facie evident.
The case concerns an encounter between security forces and four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists at Ban Toll Naka in Nagrota. The terrorists allegedly entered India from Pakistan using a tunnel on the Jammu border and were on their way to Kashmir in a truck when they were intercepted by security forces. As the truck was being searched, the terrorists opened fire and in the following encounter, all terrorists were killed and two security personnel injured.
From the truck, the police recovered 11 AK rifles, 24 magazines, 7.5 kg of RDX, 20 m of IED wire, six detonators, one Under Barrel Grenade Launcher, 29 grenades, five Rifle Grenades, three pistols with six magazines, a wireless set and a GPS. The police had then indicated that the terrorists were planning a big attack in the Valley ahead of the District Development Council Polls.The day after the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah, NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and top intelligence officials. Sources said the meeting discussed ways to ensure international pressure on Pakistan by presenting appropriate evidence at forums such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The next meeting of FATF is slated to take place in February. “NIA will be able to gather the kind of evidence that will be useful to corner Pakistan in FATF. NIA is also a member of the delegation that represents India at FATF meetings,” a Home Ministry official said.