Five months after 25 tourists were killed in a terror attack in the Baisaran Valley of Jammu and Kasmir's Pahalgam, security agencies on Wednesday arrested a Kashmir-based man who provided logistical support to the terrorists of Pakistan-backed The Resistance Front (TRF).
Police have arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Mohammad Yousuf Kataria, a 26-year-old resident of Kulgam, for providing logistical support to the April 22 attackers. He has been sent to a 14-day police custody following his arrest.
Kataria’s arrest follows the analysis of weapons recovered during Operation Mahadev, sources told.
Sources said Kataria, who worked in a contractual job and also taught local children, came in contact with terrorists a few months ago and began aiding their movements.
Investigations revealed he assisted the Lashkar group in navigating through Kulgam’s forest areas months before the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people, 25 of which were tourists. The attack took place on April 22 in the Baisaran Valley.
Investigators are also trying to uncover the past movements, hideouts, Overground Worker (OGW) help the Pahalgam attackers received from the time they infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir.
In June, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced that it had arrested two persons who allegedly provided shelter and logistical support to the attackers.
The two men were identified as Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, who also disclosed the names of three of the terrorists involved in the attack.
A month later in July, all the three terrorists - top Lashkar commander Suleiman Shah, Afghan, and Jibran-were killed by security forces under Operation Mahadev. They - were identified as the Pahalgam attackers by those who provided them with shelter after the April 22 carnage.
The very next day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while speaking in Parliament during the Monsoon Session, confirmed that the three slain terrorists were indeed the perpetrators of Pahalgam and belonged to Pakistan. The minister rejected claims of some opposition leaders that they might have been "home-grown" terrorists.
On April 22, four heavily-armed terrorists stormed the Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam and shot Hindu men at point-blank range after confirming their religion.
This prompted a major military conflict between India and Pakistan with the former launching Operation Sindoor precision airstrikes on terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) on May 7.
The strikes resulted in the annihilation of nine terrorist camps operating from the Pakistan-administered territory and over 100 terrorists were killed.
Source: India Today