The arrests were made within 48 hours of the Krishna Dhaba attack, the arrested militants have been identified as Suhail Ahmed Mir, a resident of Dungarpora Naugam, Owais Manzoor Sophie, a resident of Dungarpora, and Wilayat Aziz Mir, a resident of Hanipora Vampora Pulwama.

Police said the arrest of the trio and the recovery of weapons of arms (pistols) and grenades, as well as other substandard material including the bikes used by them, is a major breakthrough for the Jammu and Kashmir Police within hours of the attack.

A statement from Jammu and Kashmir Police said that the terrorists belonged to the ‘Muslim Zambaz Force’, which is a member of the accused terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)

Jammu Kashmir Police said, “They have confessed to the crime and an FIR has been lodged at Ram Munshi Bagh Police Station, Srinagar under relevant sections of the law and further investigation is on.”

During the investigation it was revealed that Wilayat was in contact with a Ghazi, who was an active terrorist and trained him locally a month ago. “They demonstrated again in Dalgate Durgnag area with other terrorists’ companions ten days before the attack,” he said.

On 17 February, the trio reached the Krishna Dhaba on Suhail Ahmed Mir’s bike and fired indiscriminately at the employees, injuring a man named Akash Mehra. Police said a case has been registered in this regard under relevant sections of the law and further investigation is on.