Synopsis
NIA has registered a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and Explosive Substance Act as the blast damaged a building and injured two airmen inside the IAF airbase. The agency has recorded the statement of the guard on duty who first heard the whirring noise of drones.
Security personnel on high alert near airforce station, in Jammu
NIA examination of the drone attack blast debris suggests that military grade explosives packed in a steel case were used, raising suspicion that the terror group responsible for the attack had links to an ordnance depot across the border. The findings also corroborated initial reports on use of explosives similar to RDX, with intention to blast the military installation, ET has learnt
NIA has registered a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and Explosive Substance Act as the blast damaged a building and injured two airmen inside the IAF airbase. The agency has recorded the statement of the guard on duty who first heard the whirring noise of drones, followed by blasts within an interval of six minutes.
Sleuths analysed the trajectory of the explosion and ruled out possibilities other than UAVs. “It was found that both IEDs were dropped at an angle of 90 degrees and one of them damaged the roof. The iron rods of the ceiling warped downwards making it clear that the IEDs were strapped on a flying object. After visiting the blast site, the possibility of factory manufactured explosives cannot be dismissed,” a senior government official said.
Another official confirmed that the splinters, ball bearings and small grooves casing collected from the debris were examined to ascertain the nature of IEDs. “No visual of the UAVs used to drop the payloads have been found so far. The IEDs are estimated to weigh 1.5-2 kg and detonated on impact. CCTV, radar images, call data records and internet activities are being scanned to find leads,” he said.
National Security Guard DG A Ganapathy and CISF acting chief SK Saxena returned to Delhi on Thursday after their visit to the Jammu airport. The two are expected to submit a report on their findings to the home ministry. While NSG is the nodal agency for deployment of anti-drone techniques, CISF is responsible for ensuring security of airports and vital installations.
MHA classifies vital and critical installations as A, B, C, D and E, depending on the threat vulnerability. There are more than 700 critical installations mapped out by agencies.
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