Srinagar: The Police Friday constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the attack on Amarnath yatar pilgrims in south Kashmir district of Anantnag on Monday.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Muneer Khan said a six-member SIT has been constituted, which will look into all the aspects of the attack on the yatris. “The team will investigate all the aspects, including how did the militants reach there (on the highway)? Who facilitated them with transportation and with weapons? Who helped them to escape and whether there were any lapses in the security grid,” he said.
The six-member team will be headed by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Kashmir Range (SKR) SP Pani. The other members include Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Anantnag Altaf Ahmad Khan, one Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) rank officer and three other officers to assist the probe.
Seven yatris, five of them women, were killed and 19 others were injured when militants attacked an Amarnath yata bus in south Kashmir district of Anantnag on Monday. The attack drew severe criticism from all the sections of the society, including separatists, in Kashmir valley and rest of the country.
Questions were also raised over the security cover provided to the yatris following which on Ministers Jitinder Singh and Hansraj Ahir, besides the Army Chief visited the valley and reviewed the security situation.
Accepting that there is a scope of improving security in the backdrop of the attack, Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir said Road Opening Parties (ROPs) of security forces will guard the yatra routes till late hours.
Meanwhile, Dr Singh complemented Kashmiris for condemning the attack on Amarnath yatris. “For the first time people of the valley have not only condemned, but also sought action against the culprits at the earliest,” he said during a press conference here on July 12.
