No headway in bus stand blast

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 25

The police have not yet achieved a breakthrough in the Jammu bus stand grenade blast in which three policemen, including a Station House Officer, were injured on Thursday night.

The attack on the bus stand took place after a gap of 12 years. The police seem to be groping in the dark even after 24 hours.

According to a preliminary inquiry, a grenade was hurled by some unknown persons from the flyover on the BC Road at a police vehicle outside the General Bus Stand in Jammu.

The Station House Officer of the Bus Stand police station, Rajesh Jasrotia, on whose vehicle the grenade was hurled, received minor injuries in the blast while two constables were seriously injured. The constables were shifted to Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu.

“There is no update on the attack yet. No suspect has been identified,” said Vivek Gupta, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu.

The grenade was hurled around 10.40 pm when the BC Road is overcrowded and interstate private buses for Chandigarh and Delhi are leaving for their destinations.

At the time of the attack, there was no power supply in the area and no policemen on the flyover from where the grenade was hurled.

On June 13, 2006, three grenade explosions had rocked the General Bus Stand in Jammu, killing one person and injuring 35 others.

Meanwhile, social and political organisations have condemned the attack.

The J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) has termed the attack an eye-opener for the security authorities. It said the grenade attack exposed the vulnerability of the system in the wake of the forthcoming Amarnath yatra.

Strongly condemning the incident, JKPCC chief GA Mir said it was a matter of serious concern that the terrorists could strike at will at the bus stand area which was frequented by Vaishno Devi pilgrims and tourists.

Mir said the incident had exposed the hollowness of the security apparatus and reflected the failure of the state government.

J&K High Court Bar Association president BS Slathia also condemned the attack on policemen in the heart of Jammu city. He said the attack was not possible without the support of some sleeper cells, besides Rohingya.

Slathia said: “The government has facilitated such elements to establish their foothold in Jammu city and it is sure going to pose a serious threat to the security of people in the capital city in future.”

Rakesh Gupta, president, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jammu, called the attack a cowardly act and said the design of the Pakistani establishment to disrupt communal harmony in the state shall never see the light of the day.

Meanwhile, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest against the bus stand attack and other militant attacks in the state after the unilateral Ramzan ceasefire. Activists of the ABVP gathered at Parade opposite Women College and raised slogans — ‘Mehbooba Mufti haye haye’, ‘ceasefire wapis lo’, ‘masoomo ki hatyaeen bandh karo’ and ‘state government down down’.

The Shri Ram Sena said the blast was aimed at creating a fear psychosis and panic among the Amarnath and Vaishno Devi pilgrims.