Kashmir separatist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen was behind the grenade attack at a bus stand in Jammu on Thursday, the police said. One person has been detained in connection with the blast that killed a teenager and left over 30 injured.
Jammu and Kashmir Inspector General of Police Manish K. Sinha said Yasir Bhatt, who was detained based on oral testimony of eye-witnesses, has confessed to the crime. Sinha said Bhatt was tasked to throw the grenade by Farooq Ahmed Bhatt alias Omar, the district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen in Kulgam.
Sinha said several teams have been constituted to probe the incident that happened at 11.30am when a grenade rolled under a parked bus went off in the crowded area. This is the third such attack by suspected terrorists on this bus stand in nine months.
The deceased was identified as Mohammad Sharik, 17, a resident of Haridwar in Uttarakhand. Security agencies believe the attack is an attempt to disturb the communal harmony in the city.
The Hindu-dominated Jammu city had recently seen widespread protests after a suicide attack orchestrated by Jaish-e-Mohammad at Pulwama on February 14 killed 40 CRPF jawans, escalating the tension between India and Pakistan.
The injured in Thursday's grenade attack included 11 residents of Kashmir, two from Bihar and one each from Chattisgarh and Haryana, the officials said. Four of them are reported to be critical.
Sinha had earlier said preliminary investigation suggested that someone lobbed the grenade in the bus stand area, causing the explosion.
“Local investigation has been initiated into the incident. The government has already given complete liberty to the forces to take all necessary steps,” Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre was quoted as saying by ANI.
Earlier, on December 28 and 29 last year, suspected terrorists targeted the local police station building in a grenade attack. On May 24, 2018, another grenade attack along the BC Road had left two policemen and a civilian injured.
With inputs from agencies
