How one mistake by Pulwama conspirator Umar Farooq Alvi led to his elimination

It was on this fateful day, three years ago, 40 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were martyred in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. When the world was celebrating love, hatred of some militants were preparing them to write history with blood.

In one of the worst terror strikes, a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle full of explosives into a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). What followed was a scene of the carnage wreaked by the terror attack on the afternoon of February 14, 2019.

Burnt body parts and mangled steel of the army truck carrying jawans lay strewn across the Jammu-Srinagar segment of National Highway No 44 that cuts through the Pulwama district of south Kashmir. A month after the dastardly attack, one of the key conspirators, Umar Farooq Alvi, was eliminated by security forces along with another terrorist named Kamran. 

The chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Pulwama terror attack case not only showed Jaish-e-Mohammed leaders' connection to Pakistan but also to al-Qaeda. The NIA chargesheet said that Jaish commander Umar Farooq, who was the mastermind of the Pulwama terror attack, was trained at one of the terror camps in Afghanistan between 2016-17.

Who was Umar Farooq Alvi

Umar Farooq Alvi was the nephew of Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar.

NIA chargesheet says he was the mastermind of the Pulwama terror attack on 2019.

Umar Farooq Alvi was trained at one of the terror camps in Afghanistan between 2016-17.

In Sangin camp in Helmand province of Afghanistan he undertook training for explosives.

How security forces reached Umar Farooq Alvi

After the incident, Alvi and Kamran were hiding in Suthsoo Kala locality of Nowgam in Jammu and Kashmir.

The operation hinged on an old message Alvi had sent to Superintendent of Police, Pulwama District threatening to kill him.

Umar Farooq Alvi had sent the Superintendent of Police a WhatsApp message on his personal chat box saying, "Hi Janu."

He followed it up with an emoji of a pistol and another message which read, "I will come to your house and kill you."

The officer saved the number under the contact name 'Hi Janu' and sent it to the technical team to be put under surveillance.

And as soon it was activated, the Pulwama Police Cyber Cell was alerted as the number was still under surveillance.

An operation was planned and soon forces were sent to the spot. Alvi and Kamran were hiding inside a house in Nowgam.

Security forces surrounded the location in the early hours of March 29, 2019. Operation lasted around 30 minutes in which the duo was eliminated.

Jammu and Kashmir Police recovered his mobile from the encounter site, which helped unravel the Pulwama terror plot.