New Delhi: One of the perpetrators of the Reasi terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir is believed to have stood in the middle of the road and sprayed the bus carrying pilgrims with bullets, some of which hit the driver and caused the vehicle to roll down a gorge, officials have said.
At least ten pilgrims have died in the terror attack which took place in Teryath village near Shiv Khori area of Reasi late on Sunday afternoon (June 9). Officials said the bus was returning to Katra town of Jammu from Shiv Kori shrine in Reasi when the attack took place.
The bus targeted by suspected militants in Reasi. Source: X
Officials said more than 30 pilgrims were wounded, many of them suffering critical injuries, when the driver lost control after being hit by gunshots and the bus rolled down into the gorge. At least ten empty bullet cartridges have been recovered from the site of the attack.
The identity of the deceased has not been confirmed by the police so far.
The attack in Reasi coincided with the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) cabinet at a glittering ceremony in the national capital on Sunday.
Senior superintendent of police (Reasi) Mohita Sharma said that the perpetrators fired upon the passenger bus which was on the way to Katra from Shiv Khori. “Due to the firing, the bus driver lost balance of the bus and it fell into a gorge. Rescue operation has been completed. The identities of the passengers have not been confirmed yet, they are not locals. Shiv Khori shrine was secured and area domination was done,” she said.
A witness quoted by The Times of India said that the attackers, believed to be two in number, continued to shoot at the 53-seater bus as it slid down the gorge. Most of the pilgrims are believed to be from Uttar Pradesh.
Some videos and pictures from the aftermath of the attack showed the badly damaged bus with J&K registration plate partially torn apart due to the impact of the fall into the gorge while a couple of bodies are also seen lying nearby.
In one photo, which has been verified by The Wire, a rescue team of volunteers can be seen carrying orange-coloured stretchers near the damaged bus.
According to officials, a highly-trained module of Jaish-e-Mohammad, which has been carrying out attacks on security forces in Pir Panjal region, is believed to be involved in Sunday’s attack. A massive cordon and search operation has been launched to nab the attackers while choppers have also been pressed into service to aerially monitor the area which has a thick cover of forests and dense vegetation.
Reasi abuts Poonch district of Pir Panjal region which has witnessed an uptick in attacks on security forces following the reading down of Article 370 by the Bhartiya Janta Party-led Union government on August 5, 2019.
The latest attack on security forces took place on a convoy of Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel in Shaistar Sanai in Surankote area of Poonch in which one IAF jawan was killed while four more were injured on May 4.
According to South Asia Terrorism Portal, at least 18 civilians have been killed in insurgency-related violence in Jammu and Kashmir while 12 militants have been gunned down by security forces in different encounters this year so far.
The Reasi attack, which drew widespread condemnation from political parties, is reminiscent of a similar tragedy on May 13, 2022 when suspected militants used a sticky bomb on a bus carrying pilgrims from Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Trikuta hills of Reasi district to Jammu, resulting in the killing of at least four pilgrims while more than dozen were injured.
Former Union minister Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and others condemned the attack.
“Even while Prime Minister 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 of at least 10 Indians. We unequivocally condemn this gruesome terror attack on our people and deliberate affront to our national security,” Congress party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on X.
Earlier, a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims was targeted by militants in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, resulting in the death of seven pilgrims while 19 more were injured on July 10, 2017.
