In the wake of the horrific terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, as the investigation continues by India, new insights have emerged that 15 Over-Ground WorkerS (OGW) helped the terrorists in carrying out the deadly attack in Pahalgam on April 22.
The over-ground workers facilitated the entry and exit of the terrorists, according to WION sources.
Along with that, they also helped with the recce of the area and their location was in the area at the time of the attack.
Moreover, some of the workers have been arrested, while the search is underway for the other workers.
Notably, three terrorists have been identified as Asif Fauji alias Hashim Musa alias Sulaiman, Ali Bhai alias Talha Bhai and Adil Hussain Thoker.
Musa and Talha are Pakistanis, while Thoker is a local militant, WION sources revealed citing investigating officers.
According to WION sources, in mid-April, Adil along with another active terrorist reached Pahalgam and conducted a recce of almost all the tourist spots in Pahalgam.
With the help of some OGWs in Pahalgam, they did a recce of all the tourist places of Pahalgam like Aru Valley, Betaab Valley, Amusement Park and Baisaran Valley. In this recce, two local terrorists and five OGWs were involved and were roaming in Pahalgam for about a week.
They initially planned to attack in the Betaab valley, but it was difficult to escape from there because of the movement of security forces around. Something similar happened with the Aru valley which is after the desperate valley and they reached the Baisaran tourist spot.
There were a total of four terrorists, who killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam last week. Two among them were wearing camouflage and the other two were in civilian dress. The sources also revealed that only three terrorists came inside the Baisaran meadow and the fourth one was giving cover fire.
Moreover, a senior Army source said that there were reports that "some suspicious persons had visited some hotels in Pahalgam...(We) were gathering clues as there was no specific information about attacks on tourists."
Army officials said the infiltrators in Pir Panjal mountains in south Kashmir were using several apps for navigation and communication "that can store data online and later use it offline as well", as per WION sources.
As of now, police continue to raid and interrogate suspects in Kashmir Valley. A senior police officer said they had started a fresh verification of non-locals, including laborers, students and employees, who are present in Kashmir.
Moreover, police and army have also launched several search operations in the Kishtwar district of Chenab Valley of Jammu, neighbouring Pahalgam.
WATCH | Pahalgam terror attack | Inside Pakistan's terror operations against India