Says 40-45-Kg IED Planted In Car Detected, Defused ‘Timely’
Qayoom Khan/GNS
Srinagar, May 28 (GNS): Police on Thursday claimed to have averted an incident of a “vehicle-borne IED blast”, akin to 2019-Lethpora type explosion, with the timely detection of a car fitted with “40-45 kilograms of explosives” in Rajpora area of southern Pulwama district.
Addressing reporters here, Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said that the security agencies were getting inputs about a possible attack by the militants for some time.
“We had inputs that a militant of Jash-e-Mohammad outfit was carrying out the attack and was to be done on Jang-e-Badr (17 Ramazan, May 11). We took many preventive measures and carried many cordon-and-search-operations and as such he could do it,” he said, according to a GNS correspondent.
However, he said, the input got developed on Wednesday and “we suspect Adil, who is a HM militant but also works with JeM, and Fauji bhai, a Pakistani militant and JeM commander in Pulwama are involved in the planning of the attack.”
“The police were receiving inputs since a week that HM and JeM militants were planning to launch a big suicidal strike against security forces using car bomb. When the input matured on Wednesday, we developed it and nakas were placed in Pulwama by the security forces,” he said
In the evening on Wednesday, he said, when the suspected car, about which the police already had inputs, reached a naka, the joint team of forces fired some warning shots and the militant turned the car away and fled.
“At another naka, the forces again fired some warning shots and the militant fled from the spot, taking advantage of darkness, and left the car behind (near Ayengund). The forces used lights to check the vehicle from a distance after finding something suspicious. We tightened the cordon and waited for the first light of the day,” he said, adding, “This morning, a bomb disposal squad reached the spot and saw the vehicle was laden with explosives. The IED was diffused in a technical way by the police, Army and paramilitary CRPF. The Pulwama police, with the help of security forces, have averted a major tragedy and I congratulate all of the forces.”
Responding to a question whether the bid was like Lethopra attack in which at least 40 CRPF personnel were killed last year, the top police officer of Kashmir responded in affirmative. “Definitely. He would have targeted any police or security forces vehicle.”
He said that an expert team is being called from outside in connection with the detailed probe into the nature of explosives used. “Primarily probe suggest use of urea nitrate and nitroglycerin. Initially we thought its weight was around 25 kgs. However, the explosive debris went 50 metres up from the ground which suggests the weight to be 40 to 45 kgs,” he added.
A police spokesman said a case (FIR No. 40/2020) under relevant provisions of law has been registered in Police Station Rajpora and “investigation has been initiated.” (GNS)