Had extensive military training like Armed Forces
*Bodies of 4 of family from Jaipur, newly married Delhi youth sent
*Two bodies to be airlifted to UP today; barring 2, all injured stable
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 10: Four Pakistani terrorists with the help of a local terror associate carried out last evening’s attack at a bus carrying Shiv Khori pilgrims at Teryath in Reasi district in which nine persons, seven of them yatris besides driver and conductor were killed and 43 others were injured even as the teams of NIA, SIA and Forensic experts have reached the spot to help local police in investigations as massive operations were underway to hunt down the killers.]
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As exclusively reported by the Excelsior today, police sources confirmed that Pakistani terrorists operating in mountains of Rajouri and Poonch districts carried out the attack with the support of their few local agents. They are hiding in jungle hideouts and taking directions from Pakistan through Secured Communication.
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Four Pakistani terrorists with the help of local terror associate had taken shelter in the forests surrounding Teryath and carried out the attack an hour ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of new Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Like two attacks at Surankote including Dera Ki Gali (December 21, 2023) and Sanai Nullah (May 4, 2024), the terrorists ambushed the bus where its speed slowed down on the curve and they could visualize it coming from a hill especially at a time when the road was deserted because of the evening hours (6.10PM) and there was no local movement.
“One of the terrorists who came on the road was wearing Army uniform. Another terrorist who fired from the hill near the bus was also in combat dress. Two terrorists gave cover to both from the hills while local terror associate helped the terrorists in their movement from Pir Panjal forests to Teryath and taking them back,” sources told the Excelsior.
“The terrorists appeared to be extensively trained in military warfare. The possibility of their affiliation to Pakistani Armed Forces is also not ruled out,” they said, adding they were in possession of INSAS and M4 Carbine weapons.
As reported, one of the terrorists came in middle of the road and fired at forehead of the driver Vijay Kumar sending the bus rolling down into gorge. Dead and injured because of the bullets were in front cabin of the bus. Later, the terrorist also rained bullet on the pilgrims targeting the gorge where it rolled down. They remained at the spot for nearly 10 to 12 minutes before fleeing.
Following the attack, a joint operation was launched involving the police, the Army, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Central intelligence agencies. The State Investigation Agency (SIA) teams and Forensic experts also reached the spot.
DGP RR Swain also camped at the spot to supervise search and cordon operations. The massive search operations post the terror attack yielded no result like the previous operations as there was no trace of the terrorists.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba terror outfit, initially claimed responsibility for the attack but retracted its statement later. As per the sources, LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed are responsible for the attack.
Among those killed in the attack are four members of a family from Jaipur, Rajasthan including two-year-old Titu Sawhney and his mother Pooja Sawhney, 26. Pooja’s husband Pawan Sawhney is injured. Rajinder Parsad Sawhney, 45, a cloth merchant and his wife Mamata Sawhney, 44 were also dead. All of them were part of a family.
Their bodies were sent to Jaipur through Pooja Express this evening.
Twenty seven year old Sourabh Gupta, a resident of Delhi, who was married to Shivani Gupta only an year before also died in the terror attack. Shivani is injured and admitted in the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu. Body of Sourabh was sent to Delhi via ambulance today.
Two other pilgrims who died in the attack hailed from Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh. They have been identified as Anurag Verma, 14 and Ruby, 23. Their bodies will be airlifted to UP tomorrow morning.
Driver and conductor of the bus killed in the attack were locals of Reasi. The officials said five of the nine deceased had gunshot wounds.
Of 43 injured, three were discharged today from the GMC Jammu while 18 others are admitted, two of them in serious condition. Other injured are admitted in Narayana Hospital, Katra.
A total of 10 injured had bullet injuries. Reports said Jaipur couple Rajinder and Mamata Sawhney’s three children were at home and they only know that their parents are injured. Rajendra was the sole earning member in the family.
In Ajmera Ki Dhani, just a few kilometres from Chomu, Jaipur family members mourned the death of Pooja Sawhney and her two-year-old kid. Pooja was married to Pawan, who runs an e-Mitra shop in the village, four years ago.
Financial assistance to the family will be provided as per the Rajasthan Government norms and donors will be motivated to support the orphaned children of Rajendra, officials in Jaipur said.
Besides two dead, 10 persons from Balrampur district, eight from Gonda district and four of a family from Gorakhpur, all in Uttar Pradesh were among the injured, the officials said.
District Magistrate of Balrampur Arvind Singh said 12 devotees from the district had gone on a pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and Shiv Khori in Jammu.
Ruby and Anurag Verma, from Kandhbhari village died while 10 were injured and have been admitted to hospitals in Jammu, he said, adding the Sub-Divisional Magistrates of Uttaraula and Balrampur have been instructed to contact the affected families and provide them help.
Officials in Gonda said eight members of a family from the district were also injured in the terrorist attack. The officials were in touch with the administration in Jammu and Reasi.
A Magistrate and a Deputy SP-rank police officer from the district have been sent from Gonda to Jammu to help the victims.
Suryanath Gupta, a resident of Bhikharipur village, said eight members of his family had left for Jammu on June 4 to offer prayers at the Mata Vaishno Devi Ji shrine. All of them are injured, he said.
Those injured in the terrorist attack also included four pilgrims of a family from Gorakhpur.
Seventeen family members from Gorakhpur had embarked on the pilgrimage. Two of the injured are residents of Purdilpur Kali Mandir Gali, while the other two are from Bhairopur in the Kuraghat area.
The family had split into two groups, with 13 members staying in Katra and four heading to the Shiv Khori pilgrimage site.
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