NIA Registers Case in Uri Terror Attack, Collected Evidences

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday registered a case to probe Uri terror attack at Army installation near Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in which 18 soldiers were killed and dozens others injured after four Pakistani militants stormed the base on last Sunday.

The NIA took over the investigation from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which had registered a case on Sunday, and began probe by collecting evidence available with the Army formation at Uri, 102 kms from here.

Besides the arms and ammunition recovery, DNA samples of terrorists, two Global Positioning Systems (GPS), two mobile sets were recovered from the four terrorists belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group.

The sources said while one GPS was damaged due to the fire, the other was being examined with the help of technical experts to ascertain the route taken by the terrorists and whether some help was extended to them by any local.

Sources say the Indian government has sought aid from the United States to acquire data from the GPS devices used by terrorists - to pinpoint key details of their movement and to find out from where they exactly entered India.

The place where the attack took place is located barely 6 kms from the Line of Control.

The NIA team would prepare a dossier and may make a formal request to Pakistan once the identity of the four was ascertained, the sources said.

Army has also instituted an inquiry into the attack with preliminary investigation suggesting the terrorists had entered the area at least a day before mounting the brazen assault.

The inquiry besides ascertaining lapses, if any, would also suggest measures to prevent such attacks in the future as Pakistani-based groups were indulging more in "shallow infiltration", which means that terrorists strike the first available installation after crossing the Line of Control.

The toll in the attack had yesterday risen to 18 with one more armyman succumbing to injuries in Sunday's attack India had reacted strongly to the deadliest attack on the Army in Jammu and Kashmir in quarter-century-old insurgency with Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemning it.

Meanwhile, Army has stepped up troop presence especially in South Kashmir, has boosted vigil along the Line of Control.

(PTI inputs)