The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has formally taken over the probe into the Pahalgam terror attack from Jammu and Kashmir police, intensifying its search for evidence and questioning eyewitnesses to unravel the conspiracy, sources said on Sunday.

The sources said the agency would also look into the possible intelligence and
security lapses leading to the intrusion of the suspected Pakistani terrorists.

The agency has registered a fresh FIR following orders from the Union home ministry, considering the gravity of the case as Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba’s proxy, the Resistance Front (TRF), initially claimed responsibility for the attack.

An NIA team led by a deputy inspector-general had visited the picturesque Baisaran meadow on April 23, a day after the attack in which 25 tourists and a local were killed.

The agency is expected to conduct a thorough assessment of the attack site, collect forensic evidence and help in identifying those responsible for the carnage.

“The teams, overseen by an IG, a DIG and an SP from the anti-terror agency, are examining the eyewitnesses who had seen the horrifying attack unfold before their eyes at the peaceful and Baisaran valley. The eyewitnesses are being questioned in minute detail to piece together the sequence of events that led to one of the worst terror attacks in Kashmir,” the agency said in a statement.

The entry and exit points are being scrutinised by the NIA teams for clues to the modus operandi of the terrorists. The teams, aided by forensic and other experts, are checking the entire area for evidence to expose the conspiracy, the statement said.