Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir police are close to identifying several suspects, including a terror associate who allegedly aided four Pakistani terrorists in the June 9 evening attack on a bus carrying pilgrims to the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, sources said.
They said that over 20 suspects have been detained for questioning by the police and other agencies investigating the deadly attack. The attack involved four terrorists, believed to be Pakistanis, and one of their associates.
The police have released sketches of two terrorists involved and announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh for information leading to their capture. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the State Investigation Agency (SIA) have visited the attack site and joined the investigation.
On Sunday evening, a bus carrying pilgrims to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine plunged into a deep gorge in Reasi district following the attack, resulting in nine deaths and injuries to nearly three dozen others.
DIG Udhampur-Reasi Range Rayees Mohammad Bhat stated that extensive search and cordon operations have been launched in the area to trace the terrorists. Security personnel, equipped with surveillance equipment including drones and sniffer dogs, have initiated a massive combing operation. Additionally, a helicopter has been deployed to monitor movements in the area.
Enhanced security measures have been implemented at both the Vaishno Devi and Shiv Khori temples, and a fresh security review has been conducted in response to the attack, according to a senior police official.
The attack on pilgrims is one of the biggest terrorist attacks on outsiders in recent years and marks a shift in militant activities in the Jammu region.
The attack is also a grim reminder of a similar incident when on July 10, 2017, a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims from Gujarat came under a terrorist attack in Anantnag district of south Kashmir in which seven persons were killed.
Published 12 June 2024, 06:24 IST