In a first, Jammu Police discovered a perfume improvised explosive device (IED) from a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist who was engaged in the twin blasts in Narwal on January 21.
The police apprehended Arif, a terrorist who had been in communication with Pakistani handlers for three years.
The twin bombs in Narwal last month, which happened 20 minutes apart, injured up to nine persons.
According to officials, the terrorists meant to murder as many people as possible.
According to the police, the second IED could have caused more damage than the terrorists intended if the officers had not followed the SOPs.
“Two bombs were planted on January 20. Two blasts occurred on January 21 at a gap of 20 minutes to kill as many people as possible. 9 people were injured after the first IED blast. The damage that was intended could be averted because of the SOPs followed by the police. Otherwise, the damage could have been bigger because the first IED was small but the second IED was way bigger than the first. Police have arrested one terrorist Arif, who was in contact with Pakistan handlers for 3 years,” Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said while briefing the media about the incident.
Stating that this is the first such IED recovered by the police, the DGP explained that the IED would blast if an attempt is made to press or open it.
“This is the first time we have recovered a perfume IED. We have not recovered any perfume IED before. The IED will blast if anyone tries to press or open it. Our special team will handle that IED,” he said.
DGP Singh targeted Pakistan for propagating terrorism from its land and said that the country wanted to create a “communal divide” among people in the Union Territory.
“Pakistan is infamous for propagating terrorism from its land and for killing hundreds of innocent people across the world. Jammu and Kashmir is on target for some time. They (Pakistan) want to create a communal divide among the people in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
DGP said Arif has been involved in Shastri Nagar Blast and also Katra Bus blast apart from the Narwal twin blasts.
Speaking to ANI, DGP Singh said, “The accused got the supply of three IEDs towards the end of December. He used two IEDs in the Narwal area. He is working under the influence of Qasim, a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist operating from Pakistan. He is responsible for recent terror activities in the area.”
