NIA formally takes over Pahalgam terror attack probe, questions eyewitnesses, collects evidence

New Delhi/Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday formally began the process of taking over the probe into the devastating terror attack at Pahalgam that left 26 civilians, mostly tourists, dead earlier this week.

The move comes following orders from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), signaling the gravity with which the Centre views one of the worst terror strikes to hit Kashmir in recent years.

Teams from the NIA, who have been stationed at the attack site since Wednesday, have intensified the hunt for critical evidence, a spokesperson of the anti-terror probe agency said in a statement. Senior officials of the NIA — including an Inspector General (IG), Deputy Inspector General (DIG), and a Superintendent of Police (SP) — are personally supervising the multi-layered investigation.

“The eyewitnesses are being questioned in minute detail to piece together the sequence of events that led to one of the worst terror attacks in Kashmir,” he said.

The anti-terror agency is trying to prepare the sequence of events that led to the unprecedented attack on tourists.

With the attack taking place in a locality where there were no security forces present, the investigators are examining the entry and exit points to understand the modus operandi of the terrorists.

Simultaneously, NIA teams, supported by forensic and technical experts, are conducting a painstaking search of the area for physical evidence.

Forensic and other experts in the team are looking for clues that could provide more evidence to pin the Pakistan-supporter terror infrastructure, sources said.

“The site is being combed thoroughly for even the smallest clues — shell casings, footprints, forensic traces — that could help expose the wider conspiracy behind the attack,” an official said.

NIA teams have already recorded statements of a number of family members of victims, even as forces, including Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF, and Army, conducted searches across Kashmir to locate terrorists involved in the incident.

Initial investigations have suggested that the number of terrorists involved in the attack could be five to seven, and they were aided by at least two local militants who received training in Pakistan.

The Pahalgam massacre has sent shockwaves across the country, reviving painful memories of past terror strikes and raising urgent questions about security preparedness in high-footfall tourist zones of Kashmir.

Authorities say the NIA will work closely with local police, intelligence agencies, and central forces to bring those behind the heinous act to justice.