A civil gardener was rescued from bathroom of 16 Cavalry Unit this afternoon nearly 29 hours after the fidayeen attack at Mehsar Army camp, about two kilometers from Samba.
Reports said the gardener Bahadur Kumar son of Om Prakash, a resident of Katli, Samba had gone to the Army camp for gardening at 6.30 am yesterday. He was engaged in nursing the plants when three fidayeen struck near the Officers’ Mess around 7.45 am on Thursday. He had made entry in the Army registered and parked his scooter inside the Camp.
Initially, Bahadur took shelter behind a tree when the fidayeens started raining bullet and later entered into a nearby bathroom and locked himself inside. He also switched off his mobile telephone to ensure that the militants didn’t sense his presence inside the bathroom.
As firing continued till 4.30 pm yesterday and movement of vehicles was on till late midnight, the gardener didn’t realize that everything was over.
At 9.30 am today, Bahadur’s brother, Shamsher Kumar approached the SHO Samba police station and informed him that his brother had gone to the Army camp but didn’t return. Police established contact with the Army.
After lot of searches, the gardener was rescued at 1 pm today from inside the bathroom.
The gardener later told police that he felt unconscious twice in the bathroom but regained consciousness. He said he saw the fidayeens entering the Officers’ Mess and took position behind the tree. He added that he heard loud sound of firing several times during the day yesterday.
Police said the gardener has turned out to be a prime witness in the fidayeen attack.
He was restored to his family after his statement was recorded.
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