NIA files charge sheet against six in LeT escape case

The NIA on Friday filed charge sheet against six people in a case related to the escape of LeT terrorist Mohd Naveed Jatt from a hospital in Jammu and Kashmir, according to an official statement.

The agency said the conspiracy to free the Pakistan-born terrorist was hatched in central jail, where he was lodged.

The charge sheet was filed at the NIA special court in Jammu against six people including Mohd Tika Khan, Shakeel Ahmad Bhat, Syed Tajmul Islam Kirmani and Mohd Shafi Wani -- all residents of different villages in Kakapora Tehsil of Pulwama district, it said.

Jatt, who has also been named in the charge sheet, escaped after an attack on a police escort party on February 6 this year while he was being taken for medical treatment at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS), Srinagar.

Two police personnel of the escort party were killed in the incident. During the investigation, it was found that the escape was in furtherance of a well-planned criminal conspiracy hatched among Jatt, a native of Pakistan, and another person Hilal Ahmad Rather (also a resident of Pulwama), besides four others -- Khan, Bhatt, Kirmani and Wani.

"Investigation revealed that the accused conducted meetings in the central jail, Srinagar on different dates before the incident and a comprehensive plan was made to effect the escape of LeT terrorist Mohd Naveed Jatt," the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in the statement.

As per the plan and in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, the accused conducted a detailed recce of the SMHS Hospital as well as routes to be followed before and after the action, it said.

They also arranged vehicles and weapons to be used in the execution of the plan.

During the investigation, accused Khan, Bhat, Kirmani and Wani were arrested.

LeT militant Jatt alias Abu Hanjulla and Rather are absconding, against whom non-bailable warrants have been issued by the NIA special court, the statement said.