First terror attack on J&K rail track
Source: TOI
SRINAGAR: Terror targeted railway tracks in the Valley for the first time as suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives blew up a portion of the line near Avantipora station late on Thursday night, disrupting train services between north and south Kashmir for nearly 12 hours. There was no casualty.
The terrorists detonated an improvised explosive device at Gulbugh village, 44km from Srinagar, between Anantnag and Pulwama around 10.30pm. ``They had planted IED under the track and triggered the blast, blowing up two feet of the section. At the time, a Baramulla-bound train was 10km away at Anantnag, in the Qazigund-Baramulla section,'' said IGP, railways, Gopal Reddy, on Friday. It was the first attack on railway property in the Valley, a Northern Railway spokesman said in New Delhi, indicating the ``desperation'' of the extremists.
The terrorists had made an abortive bid to blow up tracks on April 8 last year, barely six months after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had inaugurated the Qazigund-Anantnag section. The J&K police had then recovered 25kg of explosives in a cylinder near Khelan village in Pulwama district.
Intelligence sources said LeT was the terror outfit behind the attack.
IG Reddy said 800 CRPF jawans, 350 RPF personnel and 1,600 J&K policemen are protecting 100km track in the Valley. ``But it's not possible to deploy jawans every few metres,'' Reddy said. ``We'll investigate how the terrorists placed IED on the track without our forces detecting it.''
Train service resumed at 10.30am on Friday after the track was repaired, south Kashmir DIG Kamal Saine said. CRPF IG MC Asthana said the blast could have been triggered by a ``regular, high-power explosive''. ``But without forensic analysis, no one can be clear about the explosive,'' he said.
The Baramulla-Qazigund rail project cost Rs 3,200 crore and took 11 years to complete ^ in 2008. The Anantnag-Qazigund link has 113 minor and major bridges. The first phase was from Anantnag to Budgam. The track was extended to Baramulla and opened in February last year while the Anantnag-Qazigund stretch was inaugurated in October last year.
Bashir Ahmad Dar, a bank employee, who commutes between Srinagar and Anantnag daily, said the blast could deter people from travelling by train. However, Manzoor Ahmad Darzi, another government official, told TOI: ``Such incidents take place everywhere now. This won't stop people from taking the train.
Northern Railway general Manager S K Budhalakoti said, ``I spoke to DGP Kuldip Khoda who assured me that all measures are being taken to prevent such incidents.''
A senior railway official of Ferozpur division, under which the Kashmir rail link project falls, said, ``The attack won't come in the way of the completion of the project in J&K.''
Five trains run twice a day from Qazigund to Baramulla, Budgam, Srinagar to Baramulla, Baramulla to Budgam and Srinagar to Qazigund. There is no overnight train.
SRINAGAR: Terror targeted railway tracks in the Valley for the first time as suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives blew up a portion of the line near Avantipora station late on Thursday night, disrupting train services between north and south Kashmir for nearly 12 hours. There was no casualty.
The terrorists detonated an improvised explosive device at Gulbugh village, 44km from Srinagar, between Anantnag and Pulwama around 10.30pm. ``They had planted IED under the track and triggered the blast, blowing up two feet of the section. At the time, a Baramulla-bound train was 10km away at Anantnag, in the Qazigund-Baramulla section,'' said IGP, railways, Gopal Reddy, on Friday. It was the first attack on railway property in the Valley, a Northern Railway spokesman said in New Delhi, indicating the ``desperation'' of the extremists.
The terrorists had made an abortive bid to blow up tracks on April 8 last year, barely six months after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had inaugurated the Qazigund-Anantnag section. The J&K police had then recovered 25kg of explosives in a cylinder near Khelan village in Pulwama district.
Intelligence sources said LeT was the terror outfit behind the attack.
IG Reddy said 800 CRPF jawans, 350 RPF personnel and 1,600 J&K policemen are protecting 100km track in the Valley. ``But it's not possible to deploy jawans every few metres,'' Reddy said. ``We'll investigate how the terrorists placed IED on the track without our forces detecting it.''
Train service resumed at 10.30am on Friday after the track was repaired, south Kashmir DIG Kamal Saine said. CRPF IG MC Asthana said the blast could have been triggered by a ``regular, high-power explosive''. ``But without forensic analysis, no one can be clear about the explosive,'' he said.
The Baramulla-Qazigund rail project cost Rs 3,200 crore and took 11 years to complete ^ in 2008. The Anantnag-Qazigund link has 113 minor and major bridges. The first phase was from Anantnag to Budgam. The track was extended to Baramulla and opened in February last year while the Anantnag-Qazigund stretch was inaugurated in October last year.
Bashir Ahmad Dar, a bank employee, who commutes between Srinagar and Anantnag daily, said the blast could deter people from travelling by train. However, Manzoor Ahmad Darzi, another government official, told TOI: ``Such incidents take place everywhere now. This won't stop people from taking the train.
Northern Railway general Manager S K Budhalakoti said, ``I spoke to DGP Kuldip Khoda who assured me that all measures are being taken to prevent such incidents.''
A senior railway official of Ferozpur division, under which the Kashmir rail link project falls, said, ``The attack won't come in the way of the completion of the project in J&K.''
Five trains run twice a day from Qazigund to Baramulla, Budgam, Srinagar to Baramulla, Baramulla to Budgam and Srinagar to Qazigund. There is no overnight train.
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