Unknown group claims it used IED to target the vehicle

The J&K Police are keeping the ambit of investigation wide open in the Katra bus tragedy after a letter by an unknown terror group claimed that it used an IED to target the bus. The massive blaze in the bus had killed four persons and injured 24 on Friday.

Explosive experts from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) also visited the spot yesterday and collected samples from the bus and adjoining areas at Kharmal, near Katra, where the incident occurred. In a tweet, the agency stated that it had extended all requisite assistance to the J&K Police in the investigation. A detailed forensic probe is continuing to identify the reason behind the fire, it said.

Carrying mostly Vaishno Devi pilgrims, the local bus was heading to Jammu from Katra when it caught fire mysteriously all of a sudden.

Jammu ADGP Mukesh Singh had said the preliminary probe suggested that the fire emerged from the engine and engulfed the vehicle. He later reached the spot and inspected the bus.

Now, a letter by Jammu & Kashmir Freedom Fighters, said to be a terror group, has started doing the rounds on the Internet, claiming responsibility for the fire incident. Mentioning one Nadeem Choudary as its spokesperson, the letter reads that the terror group carried out the “attack on the bus carrying non-locals”.

The letter also claimed the responsibility for bomb attacks in Jammu, Udhampur and Rajouri recently.

Intelligence sources said terror angle couldn’t be ruled out. “NIA’s assistance was sought to detect traces of explosives from the bus and the area of the incident. The case has not been handed over to the NIA so far,” said highly placed sources in the agency.

On April 28, a sticky bomb was found along the Sidhra bypass in Jammu. The road is also used by Vaishno Devi pilgrims. Amarnath pilgrims also use the road during the ‘yatra’. A blast occurred near the district courts complex in Udhampur on March 9 in which one person died and 14 were injured. Similarly, in Rajouri, there have been at least four explosions in different areas of Kotranka subdivision since March 26 but the police have not been able to trace anything so far.

Rajouri SSP Mohammad Aslam Choudhary had said, “As there are no local or foreign terrorists in the region, the blasts might be the handiwork of a foreign agency.”

Sticky bomb used

BJP’s J&K chief Ravinder Raina says the NIA’s investigation indicates that a sticky bomb was used to

target the bus. “We all have to fight Pakistan’s conspiracy together,” he added.

Unsolved cases

Claiming responsibility, an unknown terror group said it also carried out a few attacks recently. A bomb was found along Sidhra bypass on April 28 and a blast in Udhampur killed a person in March.

Courtesy: The Tribune India :15th May , 2022