Jammu, Jan 21 (IANS): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a juvenile in J&K’s Rajouri district for harbouring terrorists, official said on Sunday.

Officials said that a juvenile was arrested on Saturday for harbouring terrorists involved in the killing of 5 civilians in Dhangri village of Rajouri in January 2023.

"Initially involved in another case, the juvenile was lodged in an observation home in Jammu and he was arrested by NIA on Saturday and produced before the juvenile justice board in Rajouri," an official said.

Officials added that the NIA investigation showed that the juvenile, along with two others, was involved in harbouring terrorists, who had carried out the horrendous attack.

"The other two, Nisar Ahmed and Mushtaq Hussain were arrested by the NIA on August, 31, 2023 and are presently lodged at Kotbalwal Central Jail in Jammu.

"These two had provided logistic support to the terrorists for more than two months and had sheltered them in a hideout which they had constructed on the directions of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) handlers, Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt, Abu Qatal alias Qatal Sindhi and Mohd Qasim," the official said.

A team of NIA officials had regularly camped in the hilly terrain of Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi districts in search of the actual perpetrators of the offence.

"The team examined a large number of suspicious entities and later zeroed in on the above mentioned accused persons who had provided logistic support to the terrorists. Further Investigation in this case is still going on," the official said.