At least 7 LeT terrorists behind Poonch attack
Investigators say the ambush was planned, intent may have been to create fear ahead of G20 meetings slated to be held in J&K
NEW DELHI: Prima facie investigation into the Poonch attack in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, which led to the deaths of five Rashtriya Rifles jawans, suggests the role of at least seven Lashkare-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, officials aware of the matter said, as the Indian Army launched a manhunt for the suspects and National Investigation Agency (NIA) teams reached the site.
This is the fourth incident in which the Indian Army has suffered casualties in the PoonchRajouri area. The spot is 7km from Bhimber Gali at the Line of Control (LoC), with a thickly forested belt on the Indian side of the LoC that the terrorists are believed to have made use of to hide, spot and carry out the “well-planned attack”, people aware of the matter said.
The intent, they added, could be to create fear ahead of G20 meetings slated in Jammu and Kashmir.
“This was a very well-planned ambush carried out by multiple terrorists from three sides – from the top of the hill, front and left side of the moving side of Army truck, which had rations apart from security personnel,” said an officer, who didn’t want
to be named. Prior intelligence inputs, a second official said, suggested three of the terrorists crossed over from Pakistan and hid inside the dense forest.
According to inputs from the Jammu & Kashmir Police, the terrorists used rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles against the RR jawans travelling in the truck. It’s still not clear whether the truck caught fire due to a direct RPG hit or was set on fire by terrorists after the Indian soldiers were gunned down. “The incident has been deliberately planned by the Pakistani-deep state to instigate violence in
Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh and deliberately spread fear among the delegate attending the G20 event,” said a senior J&K official, asking not to be named.
The third G20 tourism meet is scheduled to be held in the third week of May in Srinagar. Pakistan has objected to New Delhi’s decision to hold meetings in the Indian Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
A Jaish-e-Mohammed proxy , PAFF (People’s Anti-Fascist Front), claimed responsibility for the attack in a tweet, but investigators are not ruling out a joint operation of it and the LeT. PAFF was banned by the ministry of home affairs on January 6 this year under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
“This area in Poonch, which is very close to the Line of Control (LOC) has always been stronghold of JEM in terms of carrying out terror attacks,” a third official said, asking not to be named.
“Inputs in recent weeks have claimed that terror outfits have been asked by the Pakistani army and the ISI to target security forces’ convoys, camps, government buildings and people travelling to the Valley from outside,” added this officer.
MANDEEP WAS THE ONLY ONE AMONGST HIS FOUR SIBLINGS WHO STUDIED TILL CLASS 12 TO BECOME ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR RECRUITMENT IN THE INDIAN ARMY
CHANKOIAN KALAN (PAYAL) : A deathly silence, broken occasionally by the wailing wife and mother of 39-year-old Hawaldar Mandeep Singh, prevails at the residence of the soldier, who was killed in a terror attack in Jammu yesterday. Mandeep’s eight-year-old son is watching the news of his father being one of the five soldiers burnt in the attack on YouTube on his tablet in a loop since yesterday.
“He (Mandeep’s 8-year-old son Karandeep) is mum and is not saying anything but watching the news of the attack. We do not know if he understands the meaning of life and death. But he says he will join the Army, like his father,” says subedar (retd) Jasvir Singh, who is Mandeep’s uncle. Chankoian Kalan in Payal Tehsil is a small village with 100 odd houses, and Mandeep’s passion for the armed forces was well-known among the locals.
“His brothers are all into business, but he was extremely passionate about the armed forces since childhood. My nephew (Mandeep) always wanted to join the army,” says Jasvir Singh, who retired from the army 10 years ago. Mandeep was the only one amongst his four siblings who studied till class 12 to become eligible to apply for recruitment in the Indian Army. “Mandeep was different,” Jasvir said, adding that it was he who trained his nephew and guided him to join the service 18 years ago.
Mandeep’s father expired a decade ago and he is survived by his mother, wife and two children- an 11-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son.
His wife, Jagdeep Kaur, shocked beyond words, said she spoke to him only yesterday. “I didn’t know that it was going to be the last call with him. Why has life played a cruel joke,” she uttered. Mandeep last came home in February when he spent a month with the family and left in the first week of March.