Director General of Police Dilbag Singh on Friday said that weapons, grenades and cash air-dropped by drone for the terrorists involved in the killing of five soldiers at Bhatta-durian on 20 April were collected by an over ground worker (OGW) Nisar Ahmad and his family members.

The Army and other security forces have intensified combing of the thickly forested areas of the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch to track the Pakistani terrorists on the run after the attack on Army truck.

Dilbag Singh, who, along with ADGP (Jammu Range) Mukesh Singh, visited the terror attack spot on Friday morning to review the massive search operations in Darhal area of Rajouri, told media-persons that “such attacks can’t be carried out without local support. The terrorists were provided shelter at one place and then transported to attack at another place.”

He said intense search to track the natural hide-outs used by terrorists has been launched and initial investigations suggest that 9 to 12 Pakistani terrorists were active in the Rajouri-Poonch area, who may have infiltrated recently. He said that the group of terrorists involved in the recent attack might have split into two groups.

The DGP said the terrorists had carried out the recce of the area before executing the attack despite rain and hailstorm. He added the vehicle was targeted when it was moving at a low speed due to a blind curve it was negotiating. “The attackers chose the spot as they knew the speed of the vehicle would be slow at that point of the road. Terrorists used steel core bullets and IEDs to inflict maximum damage”.

“Same bullets were used in the Dhangri (Rajouri) attack where seven civilians were selectively killed on 1January,’’ he said.

Dilbag Singh said the Army vehicle was targeted near a forest area and investigations suggest that the terrorists might have used natural hideouts. “We are identifying the natural caves and hideouts that may have been used by them before the attack.’’

Talking about the local support to the terrorists, the DGP said that Nisar Ahmed, resident of Gursai village, was already on the suspect list of the police. “He was an active OGW of terrorist outfits since 1990,’’ he said. “He has been questioned several times in the past. This time, after corroborating the evidence, he was found involved in providing logistic and other support to terrorists who carried out the Poonch attack,” Singh said.

He said Ahmed’s family is also involved in providing support to terrorists. The DGP said that weapons, grenades and cash were air-dropped using drones and the same was collected by Ahmed and his family members. “With the arrest of Nisar, vital leads have been received. We are identifying the spot where the drone had dropped the weapons and cash.”

He said 200 people have been questioned so far and 12 suspects have been detained.