19 November Nagrota Encounter Case Taken Over by NIA

Four suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists were killed in the encounter.

The case was handed over to the anti-terror probe agency following a notification issued by the Central government.

(Photo: IANS)

Fifteen days after an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Nagrota that saw four suspected terrorists killed, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday said it has taken over the investigations into the 19 November incident, officials said here.

A senior NIA official related to probe told IANS the case was handed over to the anti-terror probe agency following a notification issued by the Central government. It is also probing another encounter at the same spot that took place in January.

On 19 November, four suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists, who were hiding in a truck ferrying them to Kashmir, were killed in an encounter with security forces on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway near Nagrota.

Two policemen were also injured during the gunfight with the terrorists.

According to NIA officials, the encounter between the suspected terrorists and security forces started around 5 am at Ban Toll Plaza.

Within the next three hours, the militants were killed.

A team of NIA officials after the encounter had visited the site of Ban Toll Plaza and had recorded statements of the eyewitness and police officers on the same day.

The NIA is also probing the encounter in Nagrota which took place on 31 January this year, in which three terrorists from JeM were killed at the same toll plaza.