STATE TIMES NEWS
POONCH: At least 20 persons were injured in a blast in Poonch city on Saturday evening when the Budha Amarnath Yatris reached in the midst of the town and were heading towards Dashnami Akhara for night stay.
A Tata Sumo (JK12-1455) which was parked on the road was also damaged. The Police have detained the driver for questioning.
The DDC Poonch, Commander Poonch Brigade, SSP Poonch and other senior officers rushed to the spot and took stock of the situation. All the 20 injured persons were immediately shifted to District Hospital , of which 16 were referred to Government Medical College Hospital Jammu.
The DDC said that those referred to GMC were being airlifted from Bhimber Gali to Jammu.
Meanwhile the DDC has released Rs 5,000 to each of the injured. Those referred to GMC, Jammu have been identified as Varsha Devi daughter of Rajesh Kumar resident of Poonch, Giri Raj son of Lokinder Raj resident of MP, Kullu Goswami son of Ghanisham resident of MP, Harwinder Singh son of Gurdeep Singh resident of Poonch, Rohit Kumar son of Bansi Lal resident of Poonch, Koushalya Devi wife of Inder Parkash resident of Poonch, Suraj Avester son of Munshi Ram resident of MP, Sandeep Singh Chouhan son of Maheshpal Singh resident of MP, Rinku Dhakar son of Kartar Singh Dhakar resident of MP, Darshna Devi wife of Mohan Lal resident of Talab Tillo Jammu, Vipin Kumar son of Krishan Lal Poonch, Shakshi Dogra daughter of Rajesh Kumar resident of Poonch, Rani Gupta wife of Ashok Kumar resident of Jammu, Kalyan Puri resident of MP, One unknown lady.
Meanwhile, Ashok Kumar son of Chuni Lal resident of Poonch, Amrik Singh son of Thakur Singh resident of Poonch, Fazal Ali son of Khalid Rashid resident of Poonch and Head Constable Shakeel Ahmed resident of Mendhar have admitted in the District Hospital Poonch for treatment.
Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh has condemned the incident and instructed the District Administration to ensure specialized treatment to them and immediate air-lifting of seriously injured.
In his message, Dr Singh while describing the incident as handiwork of elements trying to disturb the peace in the state said that they will not be allowed to succeed in their nefarious designs and will sternly be dealt with.
MLC Yashpal Sharma and President District Congress Committee have strongly condemned the attack on the yatris and he locals of Poonch. They have appealed to the people of Poonch to ensure peace and communal harmony.