Gurdaspur terrorists came from Pak, Govt gets conclusive proof

New Delhi, Aug 26: The three terrorists, who carried out the Gurdaspur attacks, had come from Sargoda in Pakistan, and a pair of shoes recovered from the slain terrorists bore 'Cheetah' mark, a popular brand in that country.

According to the dossier prepared by India for handing over to Pakistan during the now-cancelled NSA-level talks, independent experts analysed the two GPS devices recovered from the slain terrorists, who killed seven persons in Gurdaspur on July 27.

The experts have found that on July 21, the GPS coordinates (32.161639 N, 72:42E) were observed near Sargoda of Pakistan on Canal Road near the main Shahpur-Sahiwal Road.

The same location also appeared as one undated entry. The experts have conclusively found that GPS-2 shows presence inside Pakistan, the dossier reads. The insoles of one pair of shoes recovered from the killed terrorists bore "Cheetah" brand.

The markings were scratched and inked in the other two pairs of shoes to conceal the brand name. Shoes of "Cheetah" brand are not available in India but it is a popular name in Pakistan. Investigators have found that the three Pakistan-based terrorists entered into India after crossing the Ravi river from near Tash, close to Mastgarh village under Narot Jaimal Singh police station in Gurdaspur district.

The post-mortem of the killed terrorists was done by a Board of Doctors. No label/tag was found on any of their clothes other than on the gloves of one of the three terrorists as they had been removed deliberately to avoid identification.

The gloves bore a 'Made in Pakistan' tag. The disposable rocket launcher recovered from the Gurdaspur attackers carried Yugoslavia/Czech Republic markings while forensic analysis of cartridges recovered from the attackers traced their origins to China, Russia, Ukraine, and Czech Republic.

AK-56 rifles recovered from the three terrorists had markings removed, but forensic analysis has found them of Chinese design.

Analysis of GPS sets recovered from the attackers shows possible origins in Taiwan or the US. Sets could have been located in the UK sometime. Even IEDs planted by them had Duracell batteries not made in India.

The three terrorists had on July 27 attacked passengers in a moving bus and stormed a police station, killing seven people, including a superintendent of police. All the terrorists were gunned down after a day-long operation by Punjab Police and elite commandos of Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT).

PTI