The accused, Mohd. Ashraf Khandey, is a resident of Achhan village in Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir.

He was arrested by NIA team today from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi while he was trying to flee to Saudi Arabia via Sri Lanka.

Ashraf was a co-conspirator in facilitating, harboring and transporting a group of three heavily armed Pakistani terrorists belonging to the proscribed terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad. The terrorists had infiltrated into India from Kathua-Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir in the intervening night of 27/28th November 2016.

They had carried out an attack on 166 Medium Regiment Camp, Nagrota, Jammu in the early hours of 29th November 2016. In the retaliatory action by Army, three Pakistani terrorists were neutralized.

The NIA had registered a case and taken up investigation of the case. During the investigation, a well-planned conspiracy was unearthed and a network of Over Ground Workers of Jaish-e-Mohammad was busted which was responsible for facilitating this attack.

Three accused namely Sayeed Munir-ul-Hassan Qadri, Tariq Ahmed Dar and Mohd. Ashiq Baba have already been arrested in the case and at present they are lodged in judicial custody.

The investigation has established the role of all the accused in providing shelter and transportation to the terrorists on the directions of leaders/handlers of Jaish-e-Mohammad based in Pakistan for carrying out the terrorist attack.

Investigation of the case is in final stages and a charge-sheet will be filed in the court in the coming days, an NIA statement said.