Arun Jaitley condemns Jammu bus blast, says we need people of JK with us in fight against terror

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday condemned the grenade attack on a bus in Jammu. Wishing injured a speedy recovery, Jaitley said ‘we need the people of Jammu and Kashmir with us in the fight against terror’. “The attack on innocent Kashmiris is condemnable. Our fight is against the separatists and terrorists. We need the people of Jammu and Kashmir with us in the fight against terror,” he tweeted.

A teenager was killed and over 30 others were injured in the attack. The accused – identified as Yasir Bhatt - has been arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police when he was trying to flee.  Inspector General Police (IGP) Jammu Manish K Sinha said that the police was tasked to throw this grenade by Farooq Ahmad Bhat, district commander of the proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.

The attack on innocent Kashmiris is condemnable. Our fight is against the separatists and terrorists. We need the people of Jammu and Kashmir with us in the fight against terror.

— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) March 7, 2019

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik has also condemned the attack on innocent people. “We condemn the heinous and cowardly attack on innocent people. It was a reaction by anti-nationals and terrorists as they are losing their grip. Government has come down very heavily on such elements after Pulwama terrorist attack,” Malik tweeted.

A grenade was thrown under a parked bus at Jammu's main bus stand. A teenager was killed and around 25 others sustained serious injuries in the blast. All the injured were rushed to Government Medical College hospital for treatment in critical condition. Following the attack, security agencies cordoned off the entire area and a team of forensic experts reached the spot to investigate the blast.

This is the third grenade attack by terrorists in Jammu bus stand since May last year. 

The condition of four more injured persons was "critical" and two of them were operated upon by the doctors to save their lives, they said. The injured included 11 residents of Kashmir, two from Bihar and one each from Chhattisgarh and Haryana, the officials said.

According to eyewitnesses, a loud explosion was heard inside a bus. Initially, people thought it was a tyre burst but when they reached the spot it was found out that a grenade has exploded there. So far, no group has claimed the responsibility of the attack.

"I thought it was a tyre burst. it was a big blast. The locals took the injured to the hospital in an ambulance," news agency ANI quoted one of the eyewitnesses as saying.

The incident took place days after Pulwama attack in which over 40 CRPF personnel were killed after a suicide bomber of the JeM drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy. Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed took the responsibility of the attack. Following this, Indian Air Force carried out a strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp inside Pakistan.