17 BSF jawans, 18 family members killed

May 24,2004

17 BSF jawans, 18 family members killed
Ultras blow up bus in Kashmir
S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 23
In a major strike by terrorist in J&K, 17 BSF personnel and 18 members of their families, including six women and three children, were killed today as the bus, in which they were coming here on annual leave from Srinagar was blown up at Lower Munda on the Jammu-Srinagar highway.

The condition of five BSF personnel, who received burns, was stated to be critical at the Army hospital. The injured were airlifted to the hospital. There were 38 passengers in the bus.

As the bus carrying the BSF personnel and their families approached, the terrorists exploded an IED that was concealed under a culvert on the highway. The diesel tank of the bus caught fire that spread in the vehicle giving no time to the passengers to escape. The bus skidded off the road due to the impact of the explosion.

Reports said 28 persons died on the spot and five succumbed to injuries while being shifted to the hospital. Most of the victims were charred to death and bodies were beyond recognition.

Most of the BSF personnel and their families, travelling in the bus, were scheduled to catch trains from here this evening to reach their homes in various parts of the country. They had been granted leave by the authorities as the Lok Sabha elections were over.

The wreckage of the completely burnt bus was lying below the road. The bus was third in a convoy of 10 vehicles which was coming here.

Pakistan based Hizbul-Mujahideen outfit has claimed the responsibility.

Reports said that the terrorist group had also planted a 20-kg IED near Bijbehara on the highway. However, the explosive was detected by the security forces and removed from there in the morning. This indicated that the terrorists had become active with the Amarnath pilgrimage coming nearer.

Some passengers of a mini-bus on its way to Srinagar from here were also injured as the explosion occurred while they were passing the ill-fated bus from the opposite direction.

The IED was exploded at about 10.30 am at Lower Munda, short of the Jawahar Tunnel. Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar highway was suspended and personnel of the Army, BSF and CRPF were combing the area for more explosives.

All shops in the townships along the highway between Khanabal and Qazigund were closed in this connection.

Top police and civil officers reached the spot soon after the incident. The Director-General of the BSF, Mr Ajay Raj, had rushed to the spot from Delhi.

The intelligence agencies had been receiving reports that demoralised over the smooth conduct of the Lok Sabha elections the terrorists might retaliate in a big way.

The Hizbul-Mujahideen leadership was frustrated because of the killing of many of their top commanders by the security forces in a series of recent encounters.

The blast had created a 2-metre crater on the highway, the only road link between the Valley and the rest of the country, sources said.

The traffic along Srinagar-Jammu national highway was later restored after being suspended for five hours, an agency report from Srinagar said.

The traffic was restored late in the afternoon as Border Roads Organisation carried out repair works and an emergency sanitisation of the highway, the sources said.

Many vehicles were stranded along the highway as the tourist influx into the valley had started picking up in view of intense heat wave in the rest of the country, the sources said.