NIA team visits Rajouri; Rs 10L reward for info on terrorists

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, January 3

A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from its Jammu branch on Tuesday reached Upper Dhangri village in Rajouri that saw two terror strikes in as many days, resulting in six deaths.

Past killings in Jammu

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• June 19, 1998: 25 Hindus, part of a wedding party, killed by terrorists in Doda
• Jan 5, 1999: 16 Hindus gunned down in Barshalla, Doda
• Aug 3, 2001: 17 shot dead in Ladder near Kishtwar
• April 30, 2006: 22 shot dead in Doda, 13 others at Basantgarh in Udhampur

In another development, the J&K Police have announced Rs 10 lakh reward for information leading to the perpetrators, who are believed to be locals and suspected to be hiding in nearby forests. Sources said the police had detained one person for questioning.

NIA officials visited the three houses where the terrorists had gunned down four civilians on Sunday. They also gathered samples from the site of an IED blast that occurred near one of the houses on Monday, killing two minor cousins. Sources said the samples would help the forces determine the nature of the explosive.

The six terror victims, including a four-year-old boy, were cremated in the presence of Army, police and administration officials amid heart-wrenching scenes. The mourners took to sloganeering against the police and the district administration alleging the lives of the cousins could have been saved had the targeted houses been “sanitised properly” and the IED detected. “It was a booby trap, clearly a security lapse,” said village sarpanch Dheeraj Sharma.

Among others, Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh, ADGP Mukesh Singh and Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar were present at the cremation. A massive search operation with the help of dog squads and drones is learnt to be underway in different parts of the Jammu region, especially in Poonch and Reasi districts that share border with Rajouri.

The Divisional Commissioner visited the houses of the families of those killed in the attacks and handed over Rs 10 lakh ex gratia sanctioned by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.