Speaking to the media during his visit to Darhal area of Rajouri district, the police chief said that the terrorists who carried out the attack had been given shelter and then provided transport to carry out the attack.
“Such attacks cannot be carried out without local support. Terrorists used steel coated armour piercing bullets and IEDs to carry out the attack.
“The terrorists had carried out proper recce of the area. They targeted the Army vehicle when it was travelling with almost zero speed on a blind turn. Initial investigation suggests that 9 to 12 foreign terrorists may be active in the Rajouri-Poonch area. These terrorists could have recently infiltrated,” the DGP said.
He said similar bullets were used by the terrorists in the Dhangri attack in Rajouri district. He said since the attack in Poonch was carried out near a forest area, the terrorists could also have used natural hideouts in the forest.
Talking about the local support to Poonch attack by terrorists, the DGP said that one resident of Gursai village, Nisar Ahmad has been arrested who confessed that he gave shelter to the terrorists.
He added that Nisar Ahmad was already on the suspect list of the police as he has been an overground worker (OGW) of the terrorists since 1990.
“He was questioned several times in the past. But, this time after corroborative evidence, he was found involved in providing logistic and other support to terrorists who carried out the Poonch attack. Nisar’s family is also involved in providing support to terrorists,” the DGP said.
He said that the weapons, grenades and cash were airdropped by drone and Nisar and his family collected the packet. He said that the exact support where the payload was airdropped is being established.