From prospective engineer to would-be bomber

Jhelum railway track attacker enrolled at a private varsity till he ‘disappeared’

RAWALPINDI:

A man who blew himself up after the local police cornered him while planting explosives on a railway track in Domeli Mor, Jhelum on Thursday, was an engineering student at a private university in Islamabad before he disappeared in 2010.

According to sources privy to the investigation, the family of the man lives in Ghauri Town, Islamabad and has told the investigators that they have had no contacts with him since 2010.



The suspect’s father, who previously held a management position at PTCL, had recently moved to Ghauri Town from PTCL Colony in RA Bazaar, Rawalpindi. He told the investigators that he did not know that his son had joined a banned organisation. The deceased’s family also lived in before they shifted to Islamabad, the source said.

The investigators suspect that the bomber may have joined Al-Qaeda, but he kept low profile to escape arrest. The source said that they were investigating the case from different angles to track down any contacts and his past activities. “It’s too early to say who he was working for or linked to,” said a police officer, who is part of the investigation team, while requesting not to be named.

The police had seized a large cache of arms and ammunition including 16 hand grenades, 150 detonators, 100 metres of safety fuse, a rifle, three pistols and a large amount explosive material from the car (LOU-5203) the suspect had been using.



The suspect, who was carrying two identify cards with the same name but two different addresses, was initially identified as Muhammad Aziz, a resident of Sirae Alamgir, Jhelum. Later, investigators said his name was actually Uzair Ahmed.

According to the police, a shepherd saw Ahmed acting suspiciously near the track and informed the police, which responded immediately and approached the suspect, who was placing explosives on the track. After unsuccessfully attempting to flee while firing at the police, the suspect blew himself up, the police said.

The police said that the suspect was apparently attempting to target a train scheduled to cross the area a little later in the day.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th,  2016.