NIA officer involved in Pathankot attack probe was shot 21 times; wife critically injured

A National Investigation Agency inspector was shot dead on Saturday night in his hometown in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district, sources said on Sunday. Inspector Mohammad Tanzil was returning from a wedding along with his wife and children when they were accosted and shot at by unidentified assailants near Sahaspur town. The gunmen, who were riding motorbikes, had followed the family. “He along with his wife was returning from the wedding of his niece when two unidentified bike-borne persons stopped his car and shot at him. He was declared dead at a nearby hospital,” Rajkumar, SHO, Bijnor, said. Sources said that he was reportedly shot 21 times, and his wife has sustained four bullets. She was rushed to hospital. The children were unhurt.

NIA Dy. SP Mohammad Tanzil who was shot dead in Bijnor(Uttar Pradesh) by unidentified gunmen pic.twitter.com/5z2P3uD9cC

— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2016

The NIA has rushed a team led by a deputy inspector general from Lucknow to probe the officer’s murder. The attack comes days after the Pakistan Joint Investigation Team looking into the 2 January attack on Pathankot airforce base completed the five-day long India leg of its investigation and returned home. Hindustan Times reported that the Pakistan JIT requested NIA to share evidence in the case. NIA officials told the publication that the written request was made under Section 188 of the Pakistani CrPC. This section is used to prosecute Pakistani nationals for committing crimes in other countries, they said. However, according to sources close to the JIT, New Delhi failed to provide evidence to Islamabad’s Joint Investigation Team to prove their allegation that Pakistan based militants stormed the Air Force base. The JIT members visited Pathankot airbase on 29 March where Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials briefed and showed them the route from where the attackers stormed the airbase. Pakistani investigators were allowed to enter the military airbase from the narrow adjacent route instead of the main entrance and the duration of their visit was just 55 minutes, enough to take a mere walk through the airbase, Geo News quoted sources as saying, adding that the JIT could not collect evidence in this limited time. With inputs from agencies