Security beefed up across the state
PM, Home Minister condemn terror strike on Pilgrims
At least seven Amarnath pilgrims, hailing from Valsad area of Gujarat, were killed in a dastardly terrorist strike near Batingu in South Kashmir district of Anantnag late Monday evening while 14 others were seriously injured. Four critical pilgrims were shifted to Srinagar for specialized medical care.
A senior most police officer of Kashmir zone immediately alerted the entire security grid on June 25, 2017, soon after he received latest Intelligence report based on the input received from a senior police officer in Anantnag.
According to ground reports, the pilgrims traveling in a passenger bus were returning to Jammu after performing darshan inside holy cave shrine when their bus was targeted by the terrorists.
Unconfirmed reports from ground zero claimed the terrorists first targeted a joint security checkpoint manned by jawans of special operations group of state police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at 8.15PM near Khannabal and ran towards Batingu.
After a gap of five minutes around 8.20PM terrorists targeted passenger bus ferrying Amarnath pilgrims and further ran towards Arwani where they again targeted another CRPF camp.
Additional troops were rushed to the spot to cordon off the entire area in order to track down the terrorists.
Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was also halted to ensure the safety of other travelers in the area. Meanwhile, a high-level meeting was held between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and senior officers of the Home Ministry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also briefed by the Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also spoke to Prime Minister and apprised him about the latest situation.
Meanwhile, security was beefed up in certain sensitive areas of the state in view of Jammu bandh call given by various political parties. A high alert was also sounded along the Jammu-Pathankot Highway to prevent any similar strike by terrorists after infiltrating inside the Indian territory.
Warnings ignored
On June 25, 2017, a confidential report of the state police had claimed that the terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir have been directed to eliminate 100-150 Amarnath pilgrims and over 100 policemen to trigger communal tension in different parts of India.
According to the Intelligence input, a copy of which is with PGurus, “the terrorists have been directed to target the convoy of Amarnath pilgrims along the yatra route as their handlers believed it will result in flaring of communal tensions throughout the nation”.
A senior most police officer of Kashmir zone immediately alerted the entire security grid on June 25, 2017, soon after he received latest Intelligence report based on the input received from a senior police officer in Anantnag.
According to the official sources privy to the latest intelligence input, “the input assessed is believed to be a Human Intelligence”.
Official sources claimed, “though nature of input needs further corroboration, at this stage the possibility of some sensational attack by terrorist outfit cannot be ruled”.
Official sources claimed, “All the officer/ officials deployed on the ground have been directed to remain alert and maintain utmost vigil and take all precautionary measures to defeat the nefarious designs of these anti-national elements.”
“All out efforts need to be taken to nab the terrorists who are planning such attempts of violence”, senior police officers claimed.
Previous strikes on Amarnath pilgrims
- In August 2000, at least 30 pilgrims were massacred by the militants in Pahalgam town of Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The LeT terrorist group was blamed for the killings.
- In August 2002, eight pilgrims were killed and 30 others were injured in a terrorist attack. However, the toll was lower in comparison to the previous years. The pre-dawn attack was carried out on the Nunwan camp en route to the shrine. A LeT front was blamed for the attack.
- In June 2002, two pilgrims, who were preparing to leave Jammu for Pahalgam, were killed in a grenade attack.
- In July 2002, one pilgrim was killed and at least 24 others were injured in a grenade attack in Anantnag.
Note:
1. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
