Major Tahir, a former Kashmiri counter-insurgent who became an Army officer, was busy taking pictures of the deserted lane opening on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Tuesday. He captured images of the glass splinters that had fallen from the ill-fated bus that came under a terror attack on Monday night resulting in the death of seven Amarnath pilgrims, six of them women. Pointing towards the lane Tahir, an officer with the Rashtriya Rifles, and an expert in counter-insurgency in south Kashmir, said two attackers had emerged from the lane and retreated from the same area after carrying out the attack.
The residents have no idea as to what happened on the fateful evening.
“Everything was normal. We heard sounds of gunfire. A police mobile bunker sped away and returned after some minutes firing indiscriminately. The shopkeepers saw the glass window of a tourist bus come crashing down. The bus didn’t stop,” Gulam Muhammad Pinchoo, a resident, said.
Half a kilometre from Botengoo village, the bullet-riddled bus was halted in the backyard of the district police lines at Khanabal. Police have concealed the smashed windows of the bus with a tarpaulin.
Meanwhile, amid heavy deployment of security forces along the highway, Amarnath pilgrims and tourists continued to travel in buses and light vehicles as the attack did not deter them from arriving in the Valley for the holy yatra.
“We are not scared of the attacks. We have set out to pay obeisance at the cave shrine and we will do it,” Shilesh Brahmbhat, a pilgrim from Gujarat, told The Pioneer.
“We were told by police in Jammu about the attack but we decided to go ahead with the journey,” Brahmbhat, a policeman who was accompanied by his wife, said. He said they are confident that the Army deployed in Kashmir for their safety would protect them.
Abdul Hamid Khan, a local, echoed the same sentiments. “We are saddened by the attack on the yatris but we are satisfied that the Yatra did not stop despite the incident,” Khan said.
Meanwhile, people from all walks of life condemned the dastardly act. The social networking sites were abuzz with condemnation while a group of civil society members, including trade leaders, intellectuals and writers, held a sit-in at Press Enclave in Srinagar.
At Mirbazar, 7 kilometres from the attack site, the authorities have set up a base camp for yatris. A contingent of police and paramilitaries is doing its best to verify every vehicle carrying pilgrims. “We have been directed to disallow any vehicle after 4 pm but many pilgrims do not pay heed to our direction. They offer one excuse or the other to move ahead,” a paramilitary officer said. The doctors at Mirza Afzal Beigh Memorial Hospital, where the victims were taken for treatment, said the State Government is geared up to meet the challenge.
“Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti personally reached the hospital by 11:30 pm. She was folding hands before the injured persons seeking pardon. She stayed put in the town to oversee the relief operation,” a doctor at the hospital said.
“It was encouraging to see local volunteers thronging the hospital offering blood donation and other help to injured persons,” he said.
Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports of the Army having arrested six members of a family living close to the attack site. Abdul Hamid Khan said, “They were inside their home when the troops swooped in. They have been beaten up and handed over to the police. We hope they will be released soon. They have nothing to do with the attack.”
Earlier in the day, Governor NN Vohra, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) that manages and regulates the yatra held a security review meeting in the wake of the attack. He directed the heads of all the security forces to review and ensure strict enforcement of security rules and see that there was no let-up whatsoever.
The State Cabinet, led by Mehbooba, met in Srinagar and condemned in unequivocal terms the terrorist attack on pilgrims. They called it an attack on Kashmiri’s syncretism and pluralistic values.
While expressing deep sorrow and anguish over the loss of precious lives, the Cabinet extended condolences to the families and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls. The Cabinet wished speedy recovery to those injured in the gruesome attack.
It sanctioned Rs 6 lakh compensation in favor of the next of kin of those killed, and Rs 2 lakh to the grievously injured and Rs 1 lakh to the injured.
The Cabinet also sanctioned an award of Rs 3 lakh in favour of the driver of the bus, Saleem Sheikh Gafoor who exhibited exemplary alertness and courage during the incident.
Umang Narula, CEO, SASB informed that 4,836 Yatris on the Baltal Route and 5,776 Yatris on the Pahalgam Route had commenced their pilgrimage.