Death toll in Pulwama terror attack mounts to 40; CoI ordered

February 15, 2019 14:49

The toll in the terror attack on CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district has risen to 41 even as a full Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been ordered by the force headquarters in Delhi, a senior official said Friday.

A Jaish suicide bomber Thursday rammed a vehicle carrying about 100-kgs of explosives into a bus carrying CRPF personnel in Pulwama district. While 39 personnel have been identified, DNA and forensic tests are being conducted on two bodies, he said. Amongst the killed is a personnel of the CRPF road opening party (ROP) who was tasked to sanitise the highway route for convoy movement, the official said.

In the wake of the incident, the CRPF has issued a 'high vigil' alert to all its formations in the Kashmir Valley and other places in the state and has asked its units to be in "full preparedness."

A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been ordered into the incident, the official said. The force also posted a message on its official Twitter handle saying: "We will not forget, we will not forgive." "We salute our martyrs of Pulwama attack and stand with the families of our martyr brothers. This heinous attack will be avenged," the social media post said.

CRPF Director General RR Bhatnagar and senior officials of the force have left for Kashmir as part of a team led by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to assess the situation. They are also expected to meet the injured who are admitted to the 92 base hospital of the Army in Srinagar, they said. -- PTI

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