Gadgets used by Pak’s 4 Jaish terrorists help India solve Jan 31 terror strike

The communication devices used by the four killed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists at Ban toll plaza in Jammu on November 19 have provided a vital key to establish that Pakistan was also behind a similar infiltration by the same proscribed group on January 31, 2020, people familiar with the matter said.

On January 31 this year, Indian security forces gunned down three Jaish terrorists near the same toll plaza and arrested three overground workers after the early morning encounter. Among those arrested was the driver of the truck, Sameer Ahmed Dar.

Dar was the first cousin of Adil Dar, the suicide bomber who rammed his explosive-laden Maruti Eeco car into a CRPF bus at Pulwama on February 14, 2019, killing 40 CRPF personnel.

Watch: BSF officer enters tunnel used by Jaish terrorists; nails Pakistan role 

Investigations into the November 19 Nagrota encounter have revealed similarities beyond communication devices used by the two groups of Jaish terrorists and firmly establish that the Pakistani deep state uses Jaish to infiltrate into India from terror camps at Shakargarh across the Samba border, a security official said.

The four terrorists, who were killed on 19 November, had entered India through a 200-metre tunnel dug from the Pakistani side.

What has surprised Indian investigators is the engineering detail that went into construction of the tunnel at Pillar 189 that was used by Nagrota attackers to reach the pick-up point at Jatwal, 12 km from the International Border.

The tunnel, obviously constructed with the help of Pakistani Rangers, is 200 metres long with enough space for terrorists to walk and cross the border. The tunnel is 40 metres long on the Pakistani side entry point.

“The Shakargarh Jaish camp is a place where Jaish jihadists trained as far as Peshawar and Bahawalpur assemble to launch into India for terror attacks. The Shakargarh bulge is on the sensitive chicken neck area of India and vital to national security,” said a senior official.

Security officials, who compared the communication devices used by the terrorists killed on 19 November found many similarities with the gadgets used by terrorists intercepted in January this year.

Land Mobile Radio set MPD-2505 Make-Micro, Made in Pakistan

On both the occasions the same LMR sets have been used and had consecutive serial numbers. While the serial number of LMR on January 31 was 908331P00059, the number on November 19 was 908331P00058. Both the sets were named as “ Radio Alias: Freedom Fighter.” The call signs used on January 31 were p1, p2,p4,p5,p55,g1: and on November 19, the signs were p1, p55, p11 and p66.

ICOM VHF sets

On both the occasions, similar ICOM sets have been recovered.

GPS Device Garmin Etrex 20X

The same type of hand-held device was used in both the incidents for earmarking the infiltration route. Investigators have also observed that both the GPS devices were damaged by the terrorists in a similar manner as they had been trained to do by their Pak handlers.

Same frequencies recovered from LMR sets

This means that the communication devices used by the Pakistani handlers are the same.

The common digital frequencies are : 143.500Mhz, 147.270 Mhz, 149.310 Mhz, 150.230 Mhz, 151.230 Mhz, 155.610 Mhz, 157.220Mhz, 160.430Mhz, 162.340 Mhz, 165.710 Mhz. The common analog frequencies are : 145.100 Mhz, 144.700Mhz, 143. 702 Mhz, 143.548 Mhz and 143.887 Mhz.