Poonch terror attack: Dozens detained for questioning, hunt continues
Aman Zutshi
Jammu: The Indian army officials yesterday said that they have arrested around 30 people allegedly for questioning in search for the terrorists in their massive search operation, who ambushed an army truck and martyred 5 Rashtriya Rifles soldiers in Poonch district of Jammu division on 20 April.
General officer commanding in chief (GoC-n-C) of army’s northern command, Lt General Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday met the survivors of Bhatta Durian terror attack and said that the attackers will soon face repercussions for their act.
The Jammu-Poonch National highway which was stopped for the vehicular movement after the Bhatta Durian terror attack was resumed on Sunday for the same.
Army, on its official twitter handler through Northern Command disclosed the Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi’s visit to Military Command Hospital Udhampur and his interaction with the terror victims.
The army tweeted two images in this connection, in which the Lieutenant was seen meeting with the terror attack survivors and ensured them that appropriate action will be taken against the perpetrators.
Five Army personnel were martyred and another was seriously hurt after their truck was ambushed by terrorists, when they were carrying fruits and other items for an Iftar party to a nearby village in their vehicle.
On Saturday, the Army’s Northern Command visited the terror site in Poonch.
From a long time Bhattan Durian’s dense forest area, its relief and natural caves has become a favourite spot of terrorists for infiltration across the line of control.
Dwivedi , along with security situation also reviewed the search operation being conducted in the border area.
In a tweet, the Northern Command said it was briefed on the actions taken so far and called upon the troops to stick to their resolve.
Vehicular movement on the Jammu-Poonch highway resumed on Sunday morning after remaining suspended since Thursday evening as search operations were underway amid high alert in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, officials said.
He said traffic was earlier diverted to other routes to secure the highway, which connects the two border districts with Jammu.
Some people who witnessed the site of the terror attack after the assault, said that a traffic signboard put up by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) had three bullet marks, while vegetables and fruits were dispersed on the road.
Around 30 people have been detained for questioning so far, the officials said.
“Among those arrested are two Degwar couples from Poonch – Iqbal and his wife Mudifa and Salam Din and his wife Rashida,” said an official source.
The slain soldiers were from a unit of the Rashtriya Rifles deployed for anti-terrorist operations.
Sources had earlier said that the attack was suspected to be carried out by a group of three to four terrorists.
He said the assailants had probably spent more than a year in Rajouri and Poonch and had adequate knowledge of the area.
The Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF) is said to be active in the region and its “commander”, Rafiq Ahmed alias Rafiq Nai, is a local of Poonch.
Sources said at present three-four terrorist groups are active in Rajouri and Poonch region.
The terrorists who ambushed the army truck used a steel core bullet capable of penetrating an armored shield and fled with the soldiers’ weapons, officials said on Sunday.
He said a sniper was believed to have targeted the truck from the front before other terrorists opened fire and lobbed grenades at it.
“Experts from various agencies including the National Security Guard (NSG) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have visited the place of the assault in the last two days and have managed to get a clear picture of the deadly ambush that was carried out by the attackers”, officials said.
Meanwhile, members of the Gujjar and Bakarwal communities on Sunday visited an army unit in Akhnoor sector here to express their solidarity with the army.
Mohammad Akram, who was leading a 113-member strong community delegation, appealed to Defense Minister Rajnath Singh to provide a free hand to the army to deal with the menace of cross-border terrorism.
“We had moved to Akhnoor from Banihal tehsil of Ramban district about 25 years ago when terrorism was at its peak and it was the army which provided us relief and ensured that we did not face woes,” Akram told media.
“We strongly criticise the attack on the soldiers and our community stands with them”, he asserted.
He said that terrorism is working at the behest of Pakistan to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir and it should be dealt strictly. “We request the Defense Minister to give a free hand to the army to deal with terrorism,” he said.
A defense spokesperson thanked the community for their concern and said that Gujjars and Bakarwals are one of the worst-afflicted communities of Pakistan’s state-aided terrorism in J-K since the early 90s.
“The community has suffered for a long time, at the cost of precious lives and property at the hands of terrorists supported from across the border. These brave nomads have supported the Army in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations with great courage and conviction, said the spokesperson.
