A team of the National Investigation Agency will conduct an intensive search of the entire Baisaran Valley today with the help of metal detectors as part of the ongoing investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people last week.

The team leading the investigation has already recreated the crime scene at the spot and has been visiting Baisaran Valley everyday to gather evidence. According to sources, there were around 400 people in the area on the day when the terrorist attack took place in Baisaran Valley. All of them are said to be in contact with the NIA.

On the day of the attack, the first gunfire occurred at around 2:25 PM. Thereafter, at 2:30 PM, the local police station SHO received a call and informed the Commandant of the 3 RR (Rashtriya Rifles) company about the gunfire.

The Commandant initially assumed that the firing could have been part of a routine army firing practice. Therefore, it took over an hour for the security forces to reach the spot. 

NIA Records Survivors' Statement

Meanwhile, the NIA has been recorded the statements of families who  survived the Pahalgam attack. On Tuesday, the agency y recorded the statements of a Cuttack-based family.

A three-member team of the NIA met the family of Ranjit Bhol (69), who, along with his wife Sashi Kumari Nayak (65), younger son Sandeep (35) and daughter-in-law Lelina Subhadarshini (33), were in Baisaran in Pahalgam on April 22 when the attack happened.

On April 26, NIA recorded the statement of Priya Darshani Achariya, the wife of Prashant Satpathy, who was among the 26 people killed in the terror attack. The family had told various news channels on Sunday that they witnessed the killing of three tourists by terrorists. 

As part of the investigation, NIA officials also visited Dr Sujatha, the widow of Bharath Bhushan, a software engineer who lost his life in the attack.