The NIA filed a chargesheet in the Pathankot airbase terror attack case at a Mohali court on Monday.
The agency has named Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar along with his brother Rauf Asghar as accused in its chargesheet.
Reacting to the news Sharad Kumar, DG NIA said, “Investigation was extensive and done in a professional manner by our teams. We have collected digital, oral and documentary evidence which is irrefutable and nails the role of JeM terrorists, it’s handlers and chief Maulana Masood Azhar.”
The others named in the chargesheet are: Shahid Latif (resident of Mor Aminabad Gujrawala) and Kashif Jaan, a resident of Charsada Pakistan. The chargesheet claimed that Jaan was the main handler behind the attack.
The chargesheet highlighted the role of Jaish-e-Mohammed spreading mayhem in India and mentions the nefarious plans of the outfit.
Immediately after the Pathankot attack on January 2, Asghar had hosted a video message claiming the responsibility for the terror strike and glorified the role of his brother Azhar, who was released in exchange for passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999.
India will be using the charge sheet of NIA at various international forays to highlight the role of Azhar in the case relating to the Pathankot terror attack.
Launch of a diplomatic offensive against the group became an imperative after China continued to spurn efforts of India in getting UN sanctions against the terrorist and his group.
Earlier, the Home Ministry reportedly had given sanction to NIA to file the charge sheet against Azhar, Jaan and Shaid Latif, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
