Terrorist caught alive changed his name several times during interrogation: Official sources

Udhampur: The lone terrorist captured after the attack on BSF convoy in Udhampur had made an attempt to enter the Kashmir Valley a month ago but retreated as he could not make any headway.

Official sources here identified him as Mohammed Naved from Faisalabad in Pakistan, who had entered Kupwara in North Kashmir last month in the company of four other terrorists but had to return as their guide did not turn up to receive them.

A resident of Ghulam Mustafabad (Faisalabad) in Pakistan, Naved, believed to be in early 20s, has two brothers and one sister. One of them is a lecturer while the other runs a hosiery business.

Read: Terrorist caught alive in BSF convoy attack in Jammu today is from Pakistan, say police

During questioning at a joint interrogation centre in Jammu region, he said he had initially made an attempt to enter the Kashmir Valley a month ago but had to return as their guide had not turned up to receive them, official sources said.

Naved identified the fellow terrorist killed Wednesday in the retaliatory fire by BSF as Noman alias Momin, who hailed from Bhawalpur in Pakistan.

The duo carried out an attack on a BSF convoy at Simroli near Udhampur killing two constables. In the gun fight, Noman was killed while he managed to escape before being nabbed by the Village Defence Committee members, they said.

Read: 2 jawans, 1 militant killed as terrorists attack BSF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir

The villagers managed to capture him and call the police who took him into custody, giving the Indian security establishment a 'prize catch' which points to Pakistani involvement in the attack. Today's attack came a week after the terror strike in Gurdaspur by three Pakistanis in which the terrorists and seven Indians were killed.

During sustained interrogation, Naved changed his name several times. First he said he was Kasim Khan but then changed it to Usman before stating that he was actually Mohammed Naved, whose family includes two brothers and a sister.

Read: India to go ahead with NSA-level talks with Pakistan

Naved disclosed that he along with four other terrorists had entered Kupwara district in the Kashmir Valley a month ago on a similar terror mission but had crossed back into Pakistani-occupied-Kashmir because they could not make headway.

The captured terrorist presented a strange picture before television cameras smiling a few times and answering questions calmly telling reporters, "it's fun doing this". Had he been killed it would have been "the Allah's doing", he said.

Read: ‘It’s fun doing this,’ says Pak terrorist captured alive in BSF convoy attack 

Giving details of the incident, Inspector General of Police (Jammu) Danish Rana said the militants hurled grenades and opened indiscriminate fire on the convoy when it reached Nassu belt on its way from Jammu to Srinagar.

As many as 11 BSF personnel were injured in the attack and they were shifted to hospitals in Jammu and the army hospital in nearby Udhampur, which is the headquarters of Northern Command.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh said that there was no link between the attack and Amarnath pilgrims passing the area.

A convoy carrying Amarnath pilgrims had already crossed the area on the highway when the militants attacked the BSF convoy.

Read: Modi government being ‘soft’ on terror, alleges Congress

Singh offered condolences to the families of the jawans identified as constables Rocky and Shubhendu Roy who died in the attack even as he spoke to BSF chief D K Pathak about the incident.

BSF officials at the forces' headquarters in Delhi said constable Rocky, who was killed in the encounter, displayed exemplary courage and shot dead the militant who had attacked the convoy. While he hailed from Haryana, Roy, the other BSF constable killed, was from West Bengal.