In a major breakthrough in Pulwama-like bombing case, police has identified the owner of the explosives-laden car which belongs to Hidayatullah Malik, an active member of Hizbul Mujahideen terror group. According to the police, Hidayatullah Malik is a resident of Sharatpora in Shopian who joined the terrorist ranks in July 2019. “As per the investigations we have found the car belongs to Hidayatullah Malik. He is an active Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist who is a resident of Sharatpora Shopian. He had joined terrorist ranks in July last year and is being wanted by the forces,” said a senior police officer. The security forces in J&K averted a major incident of a 2019 Pulwama-like vehicle-borne attack on Thursday morning when they chased and seized a car laden with 40-45 kg of explosives in the district. A joint team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Army and the CRPF swing into action on Wednesday night following an input that a terrorist was moving with an explosive-laden car in Pulwama district ready to blast at a location. Based on intelligence inputs, the security forces intercepted a white Hyundai Santro car in Rajpora of Pulwama. “The checkposts were placed in Pulwama by the security forces on Wednesday,” Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range) Vijay Kumar told reporters in Srinagar. “It is a big success for police and security forces. We foiled this attack, which was similar to the 2019 Pulwama attack. The info generated by police and joint action averted a major tragedy” said Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir. On 14 February 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora (near Awantipora) in the Pulwama district. The attack resulted in the deaths of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and the attacker. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed. The attacker was Adil Ahmad Dar, a local from Pulwama district, and a member of Jaish-e-Mohammed.
