Naveed agrees to confess before court

In a major boost to the National Investigation Agency in its probe into the Udhampur attack, alle ged Pakistani fidayeen Naveed has agreed to give a confessional statement before a magistrate.

The statement will be recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) making it admissible as an evidence before a court during trial. Statements made before a police official is not admissible as evidence during a trial.

After Naveed agreed to a confessional statement before a magistrate, a Jammu court on Monday sent him to a short duration judicial custody till August 26.

“Now a ma gistrate will be assigned for recording Naveed’s statement. The magistrate will give him 24 hours to contemplate on making a statement. Once he agrees again, the magistrate will record Naveed’s statement in his own handwriting,” said an investigator.

NIA chief Sharad Kumar refused to comment on the development when contacted by HT.

Three people, including two Border Security Force (BSF) troopers, were killed and 11 others injured on the JammuSrinagar National highway on August 5 after Naveed and his associate Noman opened fire on a BSF bus.

After escaping from the attack site, the accused had entered Chirdi village near Samroli on the highway and taken three people hostage. He was over-powered by his hostages and handed over to police.

“Naveed can be taken on police remand for 30 days. We have exhausted 15 days of police custody so far,” said an NIA investigator.