A soldier injured in the ambush by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Gulmarg succumbed to injuries on Friday, taking the death toll in the attack to five.
Two soldiers and two civilian porters engaged by the army were killed in the attack at an army vehicle near the Line of Control (LoC) Thursday evening.
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“A soldier injured in the terrorist attack on a vehicle of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) in Nagin Chowk of Botapathri area of Gulmarg, has succumbed in the hospital,” a senior official said.
The terror attack had come a few hours after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha held a meeting of the Unified Command to review the security situation in the Union territory. Top brass of the army, police, central armed paramilitary forces, intelligence agencies, and CID, attended the meeting.
The Srinagar-based Chinar Corps of the Indian Army has identified the two soldiers killed on Thursday as Rifleman Kaisar Ahmad Shah and Rifleman Jeevan Singh.
Meanwhile, LG Sinha laid wreath and paid homage to the brave hearts — Jeevan Singh, Kaisar Ahmad Shah, and defence porters Mushtaq Ahmad Chowdary and Zahoor Ahmad Mir.
Security forces have launched a massive search operation along the LoC in the Gulmarg sector to track down the terrorists involved in the attack. All road routes in the area have been sealed and human and technical intelligence was being used in the search operation.
The four terror attacks in a week in Kashmir indicate that the Pakistan-backed terrorists have now shifted their focus towards the valley from the Jammu region.
Seven people were gunned down at a tunnel construction site at Ganderbal on 20 October and then three soldiers and two civilian defence porters were killed in yesterday’s attack. Besides, migrant labourers were also attacked.
These attacks have created fear among the migrant labourers and also the minorities in the Kashmir valley. The Police have said that protection will be provided at vulnerable places.
District administration and police officers have started visiting project construction sites across the UT to take stock of the security being provided there.
Meanwhile, a security review meeting by LG Sinha without the presence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has become a topic of controversy.
CPI(M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said Jammu and Kashmir is the only Union Territory in India being run by two governments, referring to a recent security review meeting that was held in the presence of the Lieutenant Governor, without an elected Chief Minister.
Senior Congress leader, P Chidambaram wrote on X, “The photograph of the LG of Jammu & Kashmir presiding over a meeting to review the law and order situation in J&K is telling. The elected chief minister is not present. Whether he was invited or not, I do not know. Under the law applicable to J&K, police and public order are subjects reserved for the LG.
“The people have elected a chief minister and government to look after their security, among other things, but the chief minister has no authority. This is why J&K is described as half a state. The immediate restoration of full statehood to J&K is imperative,” he said.
