Mudasir Ahmed Khan alias ‘Mohd Bhai’, the mastermind of the 14 February Pulwama terror attack, was killed in an encounter earlier today in South Kashmir.
Mudasir was a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist and the one who arranged the vehicle and the explosives for Adil Ahmed Dar, the suicide bomber who attacked a CRPF convoy killing 44 troopers.
He was among three terrorists killed in Tral in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district by security forces an overnight encounter, which began after the terrorists opened fire during a cordon and search operation in Pinglish area.
Police said that among the three terrorists neutralised at Pinglish in Tral, two were locals and one was Pakistani national.
Bodies of all three terrorists are charred beyond recognition and police have sought assistance of their family members for DNA test to establish their identity.
Mobile phone record indicates that Mudasir was in constant touch with Adil after providing the van to him.
Mudasir was a 23-year-old resident of Mir Mohalla of Tral in Pulwama. The son of a labourer, Mudasir was an electrician with a graduate degree.
He joined the JeM sometime in 2017 as an overground worker and was later drawn into the terror outfit by Noor Mohammed Tantrey, alias ‘Noor Trali’, who is believed to have helped the terror group’s revival in the Kashmir Valley.
Mudasir disappeared from his home on 14 January 2018 following the killing of Tantray in December 2017. The same month, his role came under lens in the Lethpora attack on a CRPF camp that left five personnel dead.
Officials believe that Mudasir was also involved in the terror strike at the army camp in Sunjawan in February 2018, in which six personnel and a civilian were killed.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the 14 February terror attack, had carried out searches at Mudasir’s residence on 27 February.
Authorities are also looking for another JeM operative, identified as Sajjad Bhat, a resident of Bijbehara in south Kashmir, who was one who bought the vehicle used in the attack on the CRPF convoy.