MHA team finds ‘gaps’ in road security procedures

Srinagar: The three-member team of the Ministry of Home Affairs has found “gaps” in the road opening procedure (ROP) on the strategic Srinagar-Jammu national highway, resulting in the high number of casualties to CRPF personnel in a militant ambush in Pampore on Saturday.

The CRPF bus that came under militant attack in Pampore on June 25. A Tribune photo

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 29

The three-member team of the Ministry of Home Affairs has found “gaps” in the road opening procedure (ROP) on the strategic Srinagar-Jammu national highway, resulting in the high number of casualties to CRPF personnel in a militant ambush in Pampore on Saturday.

The MHA team visited Pampore and Bijbehara in south Kashmir, the scenes of the recent deadly highway attacks in Kashmir and interviewed officers and officials linked to the investigation of the case.

Highly placed sources said the team was informed by the officers in Pampore where it spent nearly 30 minutes that there was no security personnel deployed on at least 250-metre stretch of the highway and the two Pakistani Lashkar-e-Toiba militants had a free hand for nearly two minutes during which they inflicted the maximum casualties on the CRPF.

Sources said the team was also told that the Army which as per the standard operating procedure (SOP) had to provide corridor protection to the highway for daily security forces convoys took much time to reach the encounter site.

“The fidayeens also took advantage of the highway running parallel with the Jhelum river and with no personnel of the ROP at the stretch, they attacked the four-vehicle convoy of the CRPF and inflicted a high number of casualties,” the team was told.

On June 25, two Pakistani Lashkar militants ambushed a CRPF convoy during day time and killed eight security personnel and wounded 22 others. Two militants were also killed in the retaliatory fire. Earlier this month, three BSF jawans were killed and 7 others were injured when militants ambushed their convoy in Bijbehara, Anantnag.

The MHA team comprising Secretary, Border Management, Susheel Kumar, Special Secretary, Internal Security, Mahesh Kumar Singla, and Joint Secretary (Kashmir Affairs) Gyanesh Kumar later met police and security officers and discussed the overall security situation. Director General, CRPF, K. Durga Prasad also briefed the MHA team about the Pampore attack.

The sources said that the MHA team was looking at three components —- highway attacks, internal security and infiltration (which is higher than the previous year).

The team will submit its report to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh later this week.