February 2019 – Pulwama - 11

 

11 February 2019 – Pulwama

Pulwama attack is one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were martyred. The Pulwama attack happened on February 14, 2019, when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district.

Soon after the attack, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a Pakistan-based terror group, claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack. The militant group further released a video of Adil Ahmad Dar from Kakapora who joined the group in 2018.   The 22-year-old youth was identified as the offender. His family last saw him in March 2018 when he left the house on a bicycle and never returned.   According to his family, Dar became radicalized after he was beaten by the Indian police, and was reportedly arrested six times in two years by the authorities on stone-pelting and over suspicion of aiding activities for Lashkar-e-Taiba, another Pakistan-based militant group. He, however, was never formally charged with a crime or named in an FIR.  

The vehicle was carrying 300 kg of explosives. 

India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) constituted a 12-member team to investigate the Pulwama attack. The team worked in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Police. 

Forty Central Reserve Police Force troopers died in a terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14, 2019. One of the martyrs belonged to MP.  Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav pays tribute to victims of the 2019 suicide bombing attack by militants in J&K's Pulwama, at Shaurya Smarak in Bhopal, Wednesday, Feb 14.

The Congress on April 18 demanded a White Paper on the Pulwama terror attack in the light of allegations made by former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik that Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans became easy targets as they were denied travel by aircraft and had to go by road from Jammu to Srinagar.

Addressing a joint press conference, All India Congress Committee’s Delhi in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil along with Col (retd.) Rohit Chaudhry and Wing Commander (retd.) Anuma Acharya — both are associated with the party — posed a series of questions to the Narendra Modi Government on the terror attack that killed 40 CRPF jawans in February 2019.

The attack dealt a severe blow to India–Pakistan relations, consequently resulting in the 2019 India–Pakistan military standoff. Subsequently, Indian investigations identified 19 accused. By August 2021, the main accused along with six others had been killed, and seven had been arrested.

New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park for his "propaganda and publicity" till the evening of February 14 despite the Pulwama attack taking place in the afternoon that day, the Congress on Thursday alleged, citing reports in a section of the media. There was no immediate reaction from the Prime Minister's Office and the BJP over the allegations. The opposition party also accused BJP president Amit Shah of "politicization of terrorism" in his speech in Assam following the attack in which 40 CRPF jawans died after a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the paramilitary force's convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. Shah, while addressing a public rally at Lakhimpur in Assam, had said that the sacrifices of the 40 CRPF personnel will not go in vain as there is a BJP government at the Centre now and it, unlike the previous Congress dispensation, will not "compromise" on any security issue. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, addressing a press conference, launched an all-out attack on the government and the prime minister over the Pulwama terror strike. In his hunger for power, the prime minister has forgotten "raj dharma" (duty of governance), he alleged. Citing media reports in Hindi news papers, Surjewala gave a timeline of events saying the the terror attack happened at 3:10 PM on February 14 with the Congress reacting at 5:15 PM. "The prime minister also knew about it, yet the PM, a person who claims himself to be a pseudo nationalist, continues to shoot a film (for Discovery channel) for self propagation in Corbett National Park in Ramnagar," he claimed. He alleged that the prime minister continued to "enjoy boat rides" with the camera crew and later ensured that there is slogan shouting by BJP people in his favour there. "The prime minister continues to eat chai, samosas at seven o' clock at government expense in a PWD guest house when every single Indian household didn't eat their food," the Congress spokesperson said. On one hand the country was picking up the "pieces of our martyrs", on the other hand the prime minister was doing his "propaganda and publicity", he claimed. "Can such conduct be expected from the prime minister of a country. The prime minister should have been chairing the cabinet committee on security immediately and should have taken action, instead of shooting films," he said. Surjewala said that the Congress party had shown restrain as directed by party president Rahul Gandhi, but it was important to raise issues of such conduct that "insults martyrs". "The Congress party and the entire nation stands united with our armed forces as also our government in every step that they take in tackling Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. We are determined in that resolve even today," he said. The Congress leader said that questions must be asked about the gross intelligence failure of this government and on the "priorities of a prime minister who on a sensitive time like this has gone on a foreign tour to South Korea instead of tackling terrorism".