According to the officials, militants opened fire at the bus, due to which the driver lost control and skidded off into the gorge. Political parties across the spectrum, including the Hurriyat Conference, condemned the attack and termed it as “deeply disturbing”.
“Eleven teams have launched search operations in the area and we have detained several people for questioning. Preliminary investigation points to the involvement of Lashkar-e-Toiba in the attack,” Rayees Muhammad Bhat, Deputy Inspector General of Police in Udhampur-Reasi range told reporters. A team of officials from the National Investigation Agency have also reached Reasi and will coordinate with the police in the probe.
The J&K administration has also set up a control room to provide all necessary assistance and a joint security force temporary headquarters of the J&K police, Army and CRPF has been set up at the site.
“Those responsible will not be spared. The attack is part of a nefarious design to somehow spread turmoil in the Jammu region but we are determined to thwart such an attempt,” Sinha told reporters in Jammu. He met the injured pilgrims at Government Medical College, Jammu and Narayana Hospital in Katra and wished them a speedy recovery.Police officials maintained that foreign militants remain a major challenge in J&K as local militancy is at the lowest in the last 35 years. Police and army officials suspect the involvement of foreign militants in this attack as well. “Some witnesses say that they saw the two attackers at the spot. We suspect that they are part of the same group who were active in the Rajouri-Poonch range,” said a police official. J&K police chief RR Swain recently said J&K is moving from “resident terrorism to foreign terrorism”. “Some 70-80 foreigners have come here with guns and IEDs and we will take tough action against the few people here who support them,” Swain had said.
The Union home ministry in New Delhi is monitoring the situation. Sources said that Intelligence agencies have received inputs regarding an attack by militants in the Jammu region. However, their target was not tourists. Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) offshoot The Resistance Front (TRF) is suspected to be behind the attacks, they added.
