Pulwama attack avenged in less than 100 hours, says Indian Army after Pinglan encounter

Day after gunning down Pulwama terror attack mastermind Kamran, the Indian Army today said that, “we have avenged the February 14 attack in less than 100 hours.” Addressing media for the first time since the dastardly attack, which killed 40 CRPF personnel, the press conference saw top officers of the Indian Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police answering some crucial questions. Lt Gen KJS Dhillon, Corps Commander of Chinar Corps, Swayam Prakash Pani, Inspector General and CRPF IG (operations) Zulfiquar Hasan spoke extensively about yesterday’s success.

Kamran was getting instructions from ISI, said Lt Gen Dhillon. He also added that Jaish-e-Mohammed is like a ‘baby of ISI’ and the Indian armed forces are focussed on eliminating the terror outfit in the Valley. 

About the yesterday’s 16-hour-long encounter in Pinglan, Lt Gen Dhillon said that, “Brigadier Hardeep Singh, who was on leave due to injury, he cut short his leave voluntarily and came to the operation site and stayed there and lead his men from the front.” The top commander admitted that a ‘car bomb’ has been used in the Valley after a very long time. Amid reports of high-intensity military grade RDX used in the Pulwama attack, Lt Gen Dhillon said that, “We have leads on the type of explosives used but I can't share the details as an investigation is underway.”

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On questions raised over why the highway was not secured before the passage of such a huge convoy, CRPF’s Zulfiquar Hasan said that, “the incident happened because of an IED laden civilian car. The ROP (road opening party) had secured the highway. Now, SOP on civilian cars will be changed.”

Kamran, the mastermind of the Pulwama terror attack, was gunned down in a 16-hour-long operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pingalan area. The overnight operation by the Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police was conducted after a specific tip-off. News Nation has learnt that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the successful mission.

Several Army and police officials were injured on Monday during an encounter at Pinglan in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district. According to reports, Brigadier Harbir Singh of 12 Sector Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police South Kashmir range - Amit Kumar, a Lieutenant colonel, a Captain, and a sub-inspector have sustained injuries. Amit Kumar has been shifted to Army hospital where his condition is stated to be stable.