Rajouri, March 13
Militants set off a powerful improvised explosive device IED in a bus, killing four persons, including a man and his daughter, and injuring 33 here today. Army’s help has been sought stop a violent protest against the strike by the militants.
The IED was kept in a Jammu-bound bus and went off soon after it stopped at the central terminus here, ripping off the vehicle which caught fire, official sources said.
A BSF spokesman said four persons were killed on the spot. However, official sources in Jammu put the death toll at three, stating that two persons were burnt alive and another succumbed to injuries on way to hospital.
Two of the deceased have been identified by the sources as Mushtaq Ahmed and his five-year-old daughter.
The sources said the IED was possibly planted in the bus at the Darhli bridge, where it had been parked for the night.
Thirtythree persons were injured in the explosion, the sources said, adding that five seriously injured persons were airlifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Jammu.
Soon after the news broke, nearly 400 persons, protesting against frequent militant attacks and raising anti-government slogans, took to the streets, beating up and seriously wounding a local police official and stoning policemen, vehicles and forcing the closure of shops.
The police used tear-gas shells and fired five rounds in the air to control the protesters. Following this the Army was called to maintain law and order in the border district.
JAMMU:
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today expressed shock over the IED blast engineered by militants in a passenger bus at Rajouri.
Condemning the militants’ act, the Chief Minister said by committing such “senseless” acts, the militants and their mentors would not achieve anything.
