11 people detained for questioning
BUNTY MAHAJAN
POONCH, APRIL 22: Officials from NSG’s National Bomb Data Centre ((NBDC) on Saturday morning visited the the spot near Bhatta Durian in J&K’s Poonch district where unidentified terrorists had ambushed an Army vehicle killing five soldiers and injuring another on April 20.
The purpose of their visit was to analyse the incident and find out the pattern of explosion that caused fire in the vehicle, sources said.
The NIA and Intelligence Bureau teams, along with the J&K Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh, Jammu Additional DGP Mukesh Singh and senior security force officials had visited the spot on Friday. The NIA is likely to take over investigations in the case.
While the Jammu and Kashmir Police have detained 11 people for questioning, the Rashtriya Rifles have launched a massive search and cordon operation, using even drones and sniffer dogs along with nearly a dozen RR Companies in the area to track down the terrorists.
The Bhatta Durian has dense forests and the security forces had launched searches there earlier also, but without any success.
Meanwhile, the movement of vehicular traffic on the Bhimber Gali-Surankote stretch of the Rajouri-Poonch National Highway remained suspended for the third day on Saturday. All the vehicles moving to Poonch were being asked to proceed via Mendhar.
The DGP and ADGP held a meeting with senior Army and police officers to review the situation emerging out of the terrorist activities in Poonch and Rajouri districts, where two terror attacks have taken place this year.
While five Army soldiers were killed and another injured in a terrorist ambush near Bhatta Durian on the Bhimber Gali-Surankote road in Poonch district on April 20, seven civilians were killed and 14 others injured in a terror attack at Upper Dangri in the adjoining Rajouri district on January 1-2.