In a horrific act of terror, militants ambushed a bus carrying pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district on Sunday, killing at least nine people and injuring 33 others. The attack resulted in the bus plunging into a gorge after the driver lost control due to the firing.
According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mohita Sharma, the bus had left Shivpuri and was en route to Katra when militants opened fire, causing the tragic accident. “We received reports that militants were lying in wait, and they fired on the bus. As a result, the driver lost control, and the bus fell into a gorge,” she said.
The rescue operation has been completed, and the injured have been hospitalized. While the identities of the victims are yet to be confirmed, SSP Sharma stated that they are believed to be from Uttar Pradesh and not locals.
Speaking about the security measures in place, the SSP said, “Whenever there’s an incident of militancy, we are on high alert… The Shivpuri shrine had been secured, and in adjoining areas too, we had been conducting area domination activities.”
Local accounts suggest that two masked militants carried out the attack, firing indiscriminately at the bus, hitting the driver and some passengers. While some reports indicate that three passengers died of bullet injuries and the rest in the bus crash, officials stated that the cause of death can only be confirmed after post-mortem examinations.
The victims were on their way to Katra town, which serves as a base camp for pilgrims visiting the revered Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in the Trikuta Hills, after visiting the Shiv Khori shrine near Ransoo.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has vowed that the culprits of this “dastardly attack” will face the wrath of the law, while Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have condemned the incident, questioning the government’s claims of bringing peace and normalcy to the region.
The attack in Reasi’s Pouni area, close to the adjoining Rajouri district, is the second such incident targeting pilgrims in the district, following a similar attack in May 2022 that claimed four lives and injured 24.
The Pakistan-backed group, The Resistance Front (TRF), has claimed responsibility for the terror attack. In 2023, India designated The Resistance Front as a terrorist organization.
The group, which was founded in 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, has been involved in numerous terror attacks.
Reportedly, two to three terrorists were involved in the Reasi bus attack, and they are part of the same group responsible for recent attacks in Rajouri and Poonch. The terrorists ambushed the bus while hiding in dense vegetation.
The terrorists were Pakistanis and have been active in the southern Pir Panjal region for the past two years.
