- Sunday, September 08, 2024
Top leaders of the country condemned the incident which raised questions over security situation in the province bordering Pakistan.
By: Shubham Ghosh
NINE people, including three women, were killed and 33 injured as a bus carrying pilgrims from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi fell into a deep gorge after an ambush by terrorists in Reasi district of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday (9) evening, police said.
It happened the same day when a new government was sworn in under the leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The incident was condemned by political leaders irrespective of party affiliations, including Modi and home minister Amit Shah who said the culprit will not be spared.
The terrorists opened fire at the bus when it was going to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine at Katra from Shiv Khori shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, causing it to veer off the road and plunge into the deep gorge.
Read: Pakistan terrorists who killed state worker in Kashmir used US-made weapon: cops
The incident happened around 6.15 pm local time at Teryath village near Shiv Khori area of Reasi.
Read: ‘Will enter Pakistan to kill terrorists’: Islamabad slams India defence minister’s remark
“An unfortunate incident occurred and as per the initial reports, the terrorists had laid an ambush and opened fire on the bus which had left Shiv Khori for Katra. The driver lost balance and the vehicle fell into the gorge,” senior superintendent of police of Reasi, Mohita Sharma, told reporters at the scene.
He added the rescue operation was completed and so far nine persons were dead and 33 others injured in the incident and they have been shifted to different hospitals.
“The identity of the deceased is not clear yet but preliminary reports suggest that they all belong to Uttar Pradesh,” the officer said.
Sharma added they usually remain on high alert and have fully secured the Shiv Khori temple with frequent conduct of area domination patrols in the adjoining areas for the past many days.
Deputy commissioner, Reasi Vishesh Paul Mahajan, who also reached the scene to coordinate rescue and search operations, said three of the dead were women.
“While bodies of four persons are in a hospital near the site, five others were shifted to district hospital Reasi,” he said, adding it was not immediately clear whether any of the deceased was also hit by the bullets.
Several groups of people held protests in different areas of Jammu division including Reasi against the terror attack and demanded stern action against the culprits.
Reasi district had previously been relatively untouched by terrorist activities compared to neighbouring areas such as Rajouri and Poonch.
Locals rushed to the site and started assisting the victims. Eyewitnesses shared harrowing accounts of the attack, with one survivor describing how the bus was barraged with 25 to 30 shots before it plunged down the gorge.
Another witness recalled seeing a masked assailant in a red muffler firing on the bus.
The injured pilgrims were rushed to Teryath Hospital, Narayan Hospital and Reasi District Hospital for treatment. “We were supposed to leave at 4 pm but the bus left around 5.30 pm and suddenly came under fire,” an injured pilgrim from Banaras in Uttar Pradesh and admitted to Teryath hospital, said.
The incident underscores the persistent threat posed by Pakistan-based terrorist elements seeking to instigate unrest and revive militancy in the Jammu region.
Shah said those involved in the dastardly terror attack on pilgrims will not be spared and will face the wrath of the law.
Soon after taking oath as the home minister for the second time on Sunday, Shah said he had spoken to lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha and Jammu and Kashmir’s director general of police R R Swain and took stock of the situation arising after the terror attack that has claimed nine lives so far.
“Deeply pained by the incident of the attack on pilgrims in Reasi, J&K. Spoke to the Lieutenant Governor and the DGP, J&K, and inquired about the incident. The culprits of this dastardly attack will not be spared and will face the wrath of the law,” he wrote on X.
Sinha said the prime minister took stock of the situation in the aftermath of the attack and directed him to constantly monitor the situation and ensure all possible help to the affected families.
“All those behind this heinous act will be punished soon. Hon’ble PM has also directed that all the injured are provided the best possible medical care & assistance,” he said.
The opposition Indian National Congress said the incident reflects the true picture of the worrying security situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Its president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Even while PM, Shri Narendra Modi and his NDA Government get sworn in and heads of several countries are in the country, a dastardly terrorist attack on a bus carrying pilgrims has resulted in loss of lives.. .” Former chief ministers of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah of the National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti of the People’s Democratic Party and Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party, besides Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, also condemned the terrorist attack.
(With PTI inputs)
