Pakistani terrorist Naveed was captured by the villagers he took hostage on Wednesday
National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief Sharad Kumar will personally interrogate LeT's Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Naveed Yakub, captured after Wednesday's attack on a BSF convoy, who has been remanded in the custody of the anti-terror agency by a Jammu court.
Mr Kumar will be visiting Jammu on Wednesday and lead the interrogation team.
While refusing to share any details of the probe so far, Mr Kumar told PTI the purpose of his visit is to ascertain the progress made in the investigation.
"It's a very important case for us and the entire probe is being done in a scientific manner," Mr Kumar, who will also visit the scene of the encounter in Udhampur district that left two BSF personnel and a terrorist dead, said.
Meanwhile, a special court in Jammu handed over Naveed's custody to the Central agency for 14 days.
The special NIA judge was requested to open the court at 7 am on Tuesday to avoid any rush following apprehensions that the terrorist, in his early 20s, could be eliminated by Lashkar-e-Taiba to destroy evidence of Pakistani involvement in the terror attack.
The terrorist, a resident of Faislabad in Pakistan, was produced before the court under tight security.
Sources in the agency, which sought Naveed's custody for deepening its probe, said he could be sent to Delhi for further questioning.
NIA, which took over the case last week, has booked him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for waging war against the nation, besides provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Arms Act.
NIA and Jammu and Kashmir Police have been questioning nearly 11 people detained after Naveed was caught by some villagers whom he had taken hostage.
The truck driver, who ferried Naveed and his accomplice Mohammed Noman alias Momin to Udhampur, and a businessman who is alleged to have paid Rs five lakh to the terrorist and his handler, have been missing and a manhunt has been launched to apprehend them. Noman was killed in retaliatory firing by BSF during Wednesday's attack.
NIA sources said sustained questioning of Naveed was required as he was changing statements frequently and had given four different accounts of the route he and his accomplices took to infiltrate India.
Naveed, who has undergone two modules of training with LeT, is being considered a hardened terrorist who is trying to confuse his interrogators, a tactic apparently aimed at buying time for his other accomplices, who were part of the group that had sneaked into India and are missing, to slip away, the sources said.