New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday handed over the charge of the investigation into the drone attack on the Jammu air force station to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Ministry of Home Affairs hands over Jammu Air Force Station attack case to National Investigation Agency (NIA) pic.twitter.com/sUWPPYNuqL
— ANI (@ANI) June 29, 2021
The investigation into the attack on the Jammu air force station has been handed over to the NIA, a Home Ministry spokesperson said.
In what was the first instance of Pakistan-based terrorists deploying drones to strike vital installations, two bombs were dropped at the IAF station in Jammu in the early hours of Sunday, causing minor injuries to two airmen.
The explosions took place around 1.40 am within six minutes of each other. The first blast ripped off the roof of a single-storey building at the technical area of the airport manned by the IAF in the Satwari area on the outskirts of the city. The second one was on the ground.
Meanwhile, a special bomb squad team of the National Security Guard (NSG) examined the nature of the blast at Jammu Air Force Station. The NSG team is trying to ascertain whether RDX or TNT was used in the blast. "Drones were controlled from across the border. Involvement of local handler is also being investigated,'' the sources said.
A special bomb squad team of National Security Guard (NSG) is investigating the nature of the blast at Jammu Air Force Station. RDX or TNT likely used in the blast. Drones were controlled from across the border. Involvement of local handler also being investigated: Sources pic.twitter.com/9RxGsUnzIo
— ANI (@ANI) June 29, 2021
The officials said the explosive material dropped by the drones might have been manufactured using a cocktail consisting of RDX, but a final confirmation was still awaited.
Investigators were yet to determine the flight path of the drones that dropped the bombs as they scanned the CCTV footage, including from cameras installed on the boundary walls of the airport. However, all the CCTV cameras focused on the roadside, the officials said.
The drones that dropped the explosives were either flown back across the border or to some other destination during the night, they suspect. The aerial distance from the Jammu airport to the international border is 14 km.
A day after the attack, the IAF station located at the Jammu airport on Monday continued to remain out of bounds for all but the probe teams including one from the NIA, which picked up every bit of evidence available on the ground.
