The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has handed over the investigation of the brutal Pahalgam terror attack to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). This directive comes just five days after the attack that mercilessly claimed the lives of 26 innocent tourists, including a Nepali citizen, and injured over three dozen others in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam.
The NIA, India’s premier anti-terror agency, has formally registered a fresh FIR and taken full charge of the probe, signaling the central government’s intent to leave no stone unturned in exposing the terror conspiracy behind this heinous act. The attack, claimed by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba’s proxy group The Resistance Front (TRF), is considered the deadliest assault on civilians in Kashmir in nearly two decades.
Led by senior officers of Deputy Inspector General rank and supported by forensic experts, the NIA teams have been camping at the crime scene since April 23, meticulously combing through the area for evidence. They are interrogating eyewitnesses who witnessed the cold-blooded massacre unfold, piecing together the sequence of events with painstaking detail. The agency is also scrutinizing entry and exit points to decode the terrorists’ modus operandi and identify their handlers.
Significantly, the NIA is interrogating overground workers (OGWs) and arrested terrorists from LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and other banned outfits, many of whom are lodged in jails. Intelligence agencies have already traced digital footprints of the attack to safe houses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, confirming Pakistan’s direct involvement and suggesting a control-room style operation reminiscent of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
The investigation is further bolstered by crucial forensic evidence and eyewitness testimonies, including a rare video captured by a local photographer perched atop a tree and the detailed account of an Indian Army officer who was present at the scene. These inputs are expected to unravel the full conspiracy and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The NIA’s takeover underscores India’s zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and its sponsors. It sends a clear message that attacks on Indian soil, especially those targeting innocent civilians and tourists, will be met with the highest level of investigative rigor and swift punitive action.
Meanwhile, ground forces comprising the Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Jammu & Kashmir Police continue to hunt the absconding terrorists, maintaining heightened alertness along the Line of Control (LoC) amid ongoing ceasefire violations by Pakistan.