The accused responsible for the car explosion near a CRPF convoy in the Banihal town of Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district has been arrested. His confession post the arrest has been recorded.

The explosion happened on Saturday, March 30 at around 10.30 am inside a Hyundai Santro model, that completely destroyed the vehicle. “The explosion appears to have been caused by a gas cylinder inside the car but this is based on preliminary examination of the car's wreckage,” a police officer said. “The car caught fire and slight damage was caused to the rear of one of the CRPF vehicles. No injuries were caused to CRPF personnel,” the CRPF stated. The explosion was suspected to have happened due to the car carrying a mix of chemicals, explosives, and LPG cylinders.

Owais Ameen, the accused from Shiopan, has confessed to the crime after his arrest within 36 hours of the incident. He allegedly belongs to the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorist organization. He stated that he was asked to explode the CRPF convoy with the press of a switch in the car that he was responsible for driving. “I was asked on the phone to explode the convoy. My task was to drive the car & press the switch. I pressed the button while I was in the car. I was alone when I did it,” Owais Ameen confessed.

#WATCH Confession of the accused in the car blast in Banihal, Ramban, after his arrest, today. #JammuAndKashmir pic.twitter.com/H2ABl6oj8o

— ANI (@ANI) April 1, 2019