Vehicle used in Pulwama attack belongs to JeM’s Sajjad Bhat: NIA

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Feb 25, 2019 : The vehicle used in the deadly Pulwama terror attack has been identified on Monday by NIA investigators, with the support of forensic and automobile experts. The vehicle is a Maruti Ecco, the owner of which is a man named Sajjad Bhat, Zeenews  reported.

 

Bhat, who is a resident of Bijbehara in Anantnag district, has been evading arrest since the ghastly attack on February 14 that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.

He has reportedly joined Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the Pakistan-based terror outfit who claimed the Pulwama attack. "Sajjad Bhat has reportedly joined Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). A photograph to this effect has also appeared in social media where Sajjad is seen holding weapons," said NIA.

An official spokesman said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has made a significant breakthrough in the investigation by identifying the vehicle and its owner after piecing together remnants of the car recovered from the scene of the blast.

The NIA investigators, with the support of forensic and automobile experts, have been able to identify the vehicle used in the blast as a Maruti Eeco having chassis number MA3ERLF1SOO183735 and engine number G12BN164140.

The vehicle was sold to Mohammed Jaleel Ahmed Haqani, a resident of Heaven Colony in Anantnag in 2011, and subsequently, it changed hands seven times and finally reached Sajjad Bhat.

The vehicle was purchased on February 4, the spokesman said, adding Sajjad was a student of Siraj-ul-Uloom, Shopian.