Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 20: Suspected militants late this evening reportedly struck at the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) camp at Thathar, about 10 kilometers from Banihal on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and gunned down a SSB Head Constable and injured an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) before decamping with their two weapons. However, senior police officials remained non-committal on the attack though they admitted that everything including a terror attack was under investigation and that two weapons were missing from the SSB camp, which appeared to have been snatched.
Sources told the Excelsior that the SSB jawans were returning to their camp at Thathar, which was located just 200 meters from the National Highway after patrol duty at the site of construction of new tunnel at Banihal on the National Highway when the suspected militants opened firing on them at around 7.15 pm.
Head Constable Ram Pravesh was martyred in the attack while ASI Shyam Sood was seriously injured. The SSB jawans immediately rushed the injured official to Banihal hospital from where he was referred to Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar in view of his serious condition. Both the jawans had sustained deep bullet injuries.
The suspected militants took away with them one Insas rifle and one AR-41 rifle of the SSB jawans, sources said.
SSP Ramban Mohan Lal, who reached the spot after getting report of the incident, told the Excelsior on telephone tonight that the terror attack on the SSB camp can’t be ruled out.
“The entire matter is still under investigation. We are not ruling out the terror attack. A SSB jawan is dead while another is injured in the attack. Security experts were on the job. Additional forces have reached the spot and entire areas has been cordoned off. Searches are being conducted in the area,” the SSP said.
Mohan Lal said two weapons were missing from the spot.
A statement issued by the SSB Police Control Room in New Delhi said: “at about 7.15 pm, unknown militants fired upon the SSB troops at Banihal in Ramban district. The SSB party was returning from tunnel security duty. In this incident, a Head Constable was martyred and an Assistant Sub Inspector was injured, who was shifted to Srinagar hospital. The militants also snatched one Insas rifle and one AR-41 rifle from them”.
The SSP Ramban said Sanjeev Yadav, CO F Company of 14 battalion of SSB told police that a total of 11 personnel were deployed for duty at the camp and, of them, two were on leave.
Senior police officials initially remained non-committal on the theory of militant attack saying everything is being investigated. Initially, police refused to buy the theory of terror attack saying the killing could be the result of scuffle between the two SSB personnel but the missing of two weapons pointed towards the terror attack.
When two weapons were found missing from the spot, police said “everything is under investigation and that a terror attack can’t be ruled out”.
Soon after the incident, the SSB personnel evacuated their jawans to Banihal hospital where Pravesh was declared as dead while ASI Shyam was admitted in serious condition. Later, the injured was referred to the GMC Srinagar.
The SSB, police and security personnel deployed in the area fanned out in different directions immediately after the attack but there was no trace of the militants. Searches, however, continued till late tonight when the reports last came in as security personnel believed that the militants might be hiding in the area after the attack.
Authorities have deployed the SSB personnel for protection of men and machinery engaged in construction of tunnel and new Jammu-Srinagar National Highway at Banihal and beyond as the area was located close to South Kashmir district of Anantnag, where there was still considerable presence of the militants.
Construction of new National Highway has been a target of the militants and, it was in view of this, the construction agencies have been provided adequate security especially in the vulnerable areas.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel