Massive manhunt launched for key suspect Ismail Geelani slams attack, says Allah won’t forgive killer of innocents
DRAGNET Police say at least two of his associates are suspected to be youth from Kashmir
A massive hunt is underway in south Kashmir to track down Abu Ismail, the 24-year-old Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) mastermind whose hand is suspected in the Monday night killing of seven Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Anantnag.
The Jammu and Kashmir police have informed the Union home ministry that Pakistani terrorist Ismail along with three other associates carried out the attack. At least two of his associates are suspected to be local youth. The state police also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Deputy Inspector General (South Kashmir) SP Pani on Wednesday to probe the attack “from all angles” and launch a manhunt to trace the perpetrators.
Speaking to HT, state police chief SP Vaid, said: “Prelimanary investigation has suggested that Abu Ismail was involved in the attack along with three other persons.”
The Police is following intelligence leads regarding Ismail’s associates, hideouts used and communication intercepts. The state police had so far put Ismail in the middle ranked ‘B’ category of terrorists.
Sources in security forces said Ismail is active in the Anantnag and Pampore areas. The LeT’s south Kashmir commander Abu Dujana and two other militants — Abdul Lone and Abdul Hameed — have been described as his associates.
However, the LeT had denied its role in the July 10 attack saying the “attack on pilgrims was against Islamic teachings”.
Retracing the events leading up to Monday night’s attack, the state police has informed the Union home ministry that the illfated bus carrying mostly Gujarati pilgrims reached Jammu on July 7 for its onward journey to Baltal via Srinagar. The Yatris usually trek 14 km from Baltal to reach the holy cave.
“On way to Baltal, the bus travelled in the convoy after getting registered at facilitation centre in Jammu. The Yatris did ‘darshan’ on July 8. But on its return journey from Baltal, the bus was not part of any convoy.The passengers halted in Srinagar for the next two days for sightseeing. On July 10, at around 4.40pm the bus left Srinagar for Jammu,” said a home ministry official.
They stopped at Pampore on the outskirts of Srinagar to buy saffron. At it moved ahead, the bus suffered a tyre puncture at 6.30pm when it was around 10km away from Khanabal.
The yatris disembarked and had their dinner and moved around while the puncture was being fixed.
“It is suspected that the movement of Yatris outside the bus come under notice of some overground supporters of militants who might have been hiding nearby looking for targets. Since the bus was not moving in any security convoy, that made it an easy target,” said the official.
The bus was fired upon at 8.20pm at Khanabal, killing seven Yatris, including five women.
Keeping in mind the incident, the home ministry has now asked security forces to deploy roadopening parities till late in the evening as well.
The state police has been asked to proactively pursue groups of yatris to travel with the convoy only.
Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Wednesday yet again condemned the attack on Amarnath pilgrims saying “almighty Allah won’t forgive the killers of innocents”, and called for an “impartial probe” into the incident.
The chairman of Tehreek-eHuriyat drew from a Quranic verse to decry the killing of a soul as “akin to killing all humankind” as he expressed grief over the death of the seven killed after terrorists opened fire on a bus carrying 50 pilgrims at Batengoo in Anantnag district on Monday evening.
“We have no animosity with India, nor we nurture any enmity with their faith,” Geelani said, and hailed the Valley’s young people for their exemplary service, the blood donation campaign and support they provided to the Yatris in times of distress.
Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, who also heads the United Jihad Council, a coalition of anti-military groups, accused Indian agencies of targeting “its own people for vested interests.”
Condemning the “barbaric attack”, he said India’s “fanatic elements want to target many by a single shot”.
“The attack was not only aimed to malign the Kashmir’s freedom struggle across the globe but also to target insecure Kashmiri students and traders living in different parts of India,” Salahuddin said.
Kashmiris reacted in unison with traders organising protest marches on Tuesday and the civil society speaking in strongest terms to express their rage calling the attack, “the attack on the Kashmiri ethos and tradition”.
Hoteliers observed a black day on Wednesday while a shutdown was also observed in Pahalgam, one of the two base camps for the annual pilgrimage.
The Jammu and Kashmir police, which said on Wednesday that the bus had deserted the security convoy during its return journey from Srinagar to Jammu, maintained that the security forces, and not the pilgrims, were the target of terrorists.
The police blamed Pakistanbased Lashkar-e-Tayyeba for the attack, which the militant outfit has denied. Its spokesperson Abdullah Ghaznavi called the attack a “highly reprehensible act’’ and accused the Indian agencies for it.