STATE TIMES NEWS
Jammu: Just two days before Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra is scheduled to reach Jammu, two back-to-back explosions rocked a busy locality on the outskirts of the city on Saturday, leaving nine people injured, officials said.
Police suspect that IEDs were used to carry out the twin explosions in an SUV parked in a repair shop and in a vehicle at a nearby junkyard at Transport Nagar area of Narwal.
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha strongly condemned the incident and called for urgent steps to take action against those responsible.
“A blast occurred in an old, parked Bolero (Sports Utility Vehicle) around 11 am resulting in injuries to five people who were standing nearby. They were evacuated to hospital and their condition is stable,” Additional Director General of Police, Mukesh Singh told reporters near the scene of the explosion.
LG condemns blasts, calls for urgent steps to bring culprits to justice
JAMMU: The Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha has strongly condemned the blasts that have taken place in Narwal, Jammu this morning. Senior police officials briefed the Lt Governor about the blast and on the state of investigation. He called for urgent steps to identify and take action against those responsible.
“Such dastardly acts highlight the desperation and cowardice of those responsible. Take immediate and firm action. No efforts should be spared to bring the perpetrators to justice,” the Lt Governor told the security officials.
The Lt Governor has offered heartfelt sympathies to those injured. He also announced relief of Rs. 50,000 to those injured in the incident. The Lt Governor said that the administration would ensure best possible treatment and extend every help required by the families.
He said the whole area was immediately cleared of the people but in the meantime another blast occurred 50 metres away, causing minor injuries to one more person who was also shifted to hospital.
“Further investigation is on,” the officer said.
However, a total of nine persons were brought with splinter injuries to Government Medical College (GMC) hospital following the blasts.
“We have received nine patients with one having abdominal injuries and two others fractured legs. The condition of all of them is stable,” a doctor at the hospital said.
The injured have been identified as Sohail Iqbal (35), son of Mohd.Iqbal, resident of Ustaad Mohalla Jammu; Sushil Kumar (26), son of Ramesh Kumar, resident of Prem Nagar Doda; Vishap Partap (25), son of Babu Singh, resident of Kanachak Jammu; Vinod Kumar (52), son of Kaku Ram, resident of Chak Baktawar RS Pura; Arun Kumar (25), son of Unknown, resident of Qasim Nagar Bawe; Amit Kumar (40), son of Gulshan Kumar, resident of Bahu Fort Jammu and Rajesh Kumar (35), son of Darshan Lal, resident of Bawe Jammu.
The blasts were triggered by suspected terrorists at a time when security agencies in the region are on high alert in the wake of the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress and the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.
The Yatra entered J-K’s Kathua district on Thursday evening via Punjab and is camping in Chadwal, about 70 km from here.
The officials said the whole area was cordoned off by joint teams of police and CRPF immediately after the first explosion which was followed by another blast 15 minutes later.
A thorough sanitisation operation was carried out and forensic experts, bomb disposal squad and sniffer dogs were also pressed into service to look for clues, they said.
Jaswinder Singh, an eyewitness, said the first blast occurred in a vehicle that was at a workshop for repair.
About 15 minutes later, another explosion took place in the area littered with damaged parts and garbage, said Singh, president of the Motor Spare Parts Association.
Raj Kumar said he was working on another vehicle when the blast ripped apart another parked vehicle.
“We initially thought that the petrol tank of some vehicle exploded but the blast was so powerful that it blew up the vehicle,” he said.
An official spokesman said senior police officials briefed the Lt Governor.
“Such dastardly acts highlight the desperation and cowardice of those responsible. Take immediate and firm action. No efforts should be spared to bring the perpetrators to justice,” the Lt Governor said.
Sinha also announced assistance of Rs 50,000 to the injured. The Lt Governor said that the administration would ensure the best possible treatment and extend every help required by the families.
Congress MP and AICC inchage J-K Rajani Patil strongly condemned the twin blasts.
Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir AAP state coordination committee Harsh Dev Singh accused the BJP of complete failure in improving the security situation in the Union Territory.
“The day the BJP government took over, the situation in J&K is getting from bad to worse. Terrorism is increasing with each passing day and is returning to 1990s,” Singh alleged.
“They were stating that not a bird was killed after the abrogation of Article 370 but the reality is that innocent men, women and children are getting killed. The BJP has to give answers not only to J-K but to the entire nation,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile Political parties in Kashmir, including the National Conference condemned the twin bomb blasts in Jammu which left nine people injured.
The National Conference (NC), while condemning the blasts, called for a proper investigation into the incidents.
“I condemn this act unequivocally and hope that it is properly investigated. I express my sympathies with the families of those injured and pray for their speedy and complete recovery,” NC president Farooq Abdullah said.
The party’s vice president Omar Abdullah also condemned the blasts and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
Democratic Azad Party (DAP) chief Ghulam Nabi Azad strongly condemn the blasts and tweeted that the Jammu and Kashmir administration must provide all required medical facilities to the injured and support to their families.
People’s Conference tweeted, “We condemn the blasts in the Narwal area of Jammu this morning in the strongest and most unequivocal of terms.”
“Our prayers for the early recovery of the injured,” the party said.
The Apni Party said the government should identify the culprits and they should be punished.
“The twin blasts that took place in Narwal, Jammu, causing injuries to six people is condemnable. The government should identify the culprits and they should be punished,” senior vice president, Apni Party, Ghulam Hassan Mir, said on Twitter.
Apni Party President, Syed Mohammed Altaf Bukhari also condemned twin blasts in Transport Nagar in Narwal area of Jammu District in which over 6 people have been injured.
In his statement to the press, Altaf Bukhari said that the twin blasts in Jammu is an attempt to disrupt peace and spread fear among the people who live in communal harmony with each other.
“It appears that the blasts were triggered to spread tension after Rajouri targeted killings. The incident has worried the peace loving people in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
He said that the Govt should hold a proper investigation into the incident and punish the accused persons involved in the blasts which has wounded over 6 people.
