A 17-year-old boy was killed and 32 others were injured after terrorists hurled a powerful grenade at a busy bus stand in Jammu on Thursday. Five of the injured are in critical condition.
Police immediately swung into action and arrested a suspect, identified as Yasir Javed Bhat alias Arhan, within hours from the Nagrota toll post when he was trying to escape to the Valley. Bhat is reportedly a member of Hizbul Mujahideen, a terrorist group which operates from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Terrorists lobbed the grenade around 12 noon when the area was bustling with activity. The injured were taken to a hospital where the teen, identified as Mohammad Shariq, hailing from Uttarakhand, succumbed to his injuries.
Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, Manish Kumar Sinha, while talking about the terror attack, said, "Whenever there is a heightened alert, we strengthen our checking and frisking but there is always a possibility of someone slipping through. This one seems to be a case like that."
"Obviously the intention is always to disturb the communal peace and harmony. I request everyone to please maintain calm," he added.
Hailing from South Kashmir, Bhat was arrested after security forces zeroed in on him while scanning the CCTV footage of the area.
"We were able to identify a suspect who was wearing jeans, a jacket and carrying a red rucksack. All checkpoints in the city were alerted and asked to keep an eye out for a person with matching details. A team, led by SDPO and SHO Nagrota, which was positioned at a checkpoint near Bantoll Plaza in Nagrota, identified Bhat who was trying to escape to the Valley. He was apprehended and held for sustained questioning," Sinha said.
Sinha also said that Bhat confessed to his crime during the initial rounds of questioning. "During the preliminary interrogation, he revealed that he was tasked to throw a grenade by the district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen in Kulgam, Farooq Ahmad Bhat alias Umar. He had left Kulgam March 6 and reached Jammu on March 7," Sinha added.
This is the third grenade attack which has rocked the otherwise peaceful Jammu city in the last one year.
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik called upon all the concerned agencies to ensure that those responsible for this dreadful act are brought to justice and law and order is maintained in the state. The Governor announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 20,000 each to those injured in the terror attack.
Shortly after the attack, former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said terrorism has no religion and violence has no place in today's world. "Such incidents should not deflect us from the cherished ideals of inter-communal harmony," he said.
PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti too condemned this act of terror and prayed for speedy recovery of those injured. "The perpetrators are out there to inflict pain and divide us. Our unity has to be our tool to defeat them," she said.
Winter Capital Turns Hostile
41 people, including armymen, have been killed in terror attacks in past 6 yrs
- March 30, 2002: Terrorists attack Jammu’s famous Raghunath temple, injuring 20 and killing 12
- Jan 2, 2004: Terrorists sneak open indiscriminate fire at the Jammu railway station. Six people were killed and 14 injured
- March 20, 2015: Two terrorists wearing Indian Army uniform kill four in a police station of Kathua
- March 21, 2015: Terrorists attack an Army camp in Samba & injure 1
Compiled by DNA-Research N Archives
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