On 14 February 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora (near Awantipora) in the Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The attack resulted in the deaths of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and the attacker. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed. The attacker was Adil Ahmad Dar, a local from Pulwama district, and a member of Jaish-e-Mohammed.India has blamed Pakistan for the attack. Pakistan condemned the attack and denied any connection to it.
Attack
On 14 February 2019, a convoy of 78 vehicles transporting more than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel from Jammu to Srinagar was travelling on National Highway 44. The convoy had left Jammu around 03:30 IST and was carrying a large number of personnel due to the highway having been shut down for two days prior. The convoy was scheduled to reach its destination before sunset.
At Lethpora near Awantipora, around 15:15 IST, a bus carrying security personnel was rammed by a car carrying explosives. It caused a blast which killed 40 CRPF personnel of the 76th Battalion and injured many others. The injured were moved to the army base hospital in Srinagar.
Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack. They also released a video of the assailant Adil Ahmad Dar, a 22-year old from Kakapora who had joined the group a year earlier.Dar's family had last seen him in March 2018, when he left his house on a bicycle one day and never returned.Pakistan denied any involvement, though Jaish-e-Mohammed's leader, Masood Azhar, is known to operate in the country.
It is the deadliest terror attack on India's state security personnel in Kashmir since 1989.
Perpetrator
The perpetrator was identified as Adil Ahmad Dar (alias Adil Ahmad Gaadi Takranewala or Waqas Commando), a 22-year old from Kakapora. According to Dar's parents, Dar became radicalized after he was beaten by Indian police. Between September 2016 and March 2018, Adil Dar was reportedly arrested six times by Indian authorities. However, each time he was released without any charges.
Personnel Killed in Attack:
List of the martyred CRPF jawans:
Head Constable Naseer Ahmad (Jammu and Kashmir) Constable Sukhjinder Singh (Punjab) Head Constable Jaimal Singh (Punjab) Constable Rohitash Lamba (Rajasthan) Constable Tilak Raj (Himachal Pradesh) Head Constable Vijay Soreng (Jharkhand) Constable Vasantha Kumar VV (Kerala) Constable Subramaniam G (Tamil Nadu) Constable Manoja Kumar Behera (Odisha) Constable GD Guru H (Karnataka) Head Constable Narayan Lal Gurjar (Rajasthan) Constable Mahesh Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) Constable Pradeep Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) Head Constable Hemraj Meena (Rajasthan) Head Constable PK Sahoo (Odisha) Constable Ramesh Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) Head Constable Sanjay Rajput (Maharashtra) Constable Koushal Kumar Rawat (Uttar Pradesh) Constable Pradeep Singh (Uttar Pradesh) Constable Shyam Babu (Uttar Pradesh) Constable Ajit Kumar Azad (Uttar Pradesh) Constable Maninder Singh Attri (Punjab) Head Constable Bablu Santra (West Bengal) Constable Ashvni Kumar Kaochi (Madhya Pradesh) Constable Rathod Nitin Shivaji (Maharashtra) Constable Bhagirath Singh (Rajasthan) Constable Virendra Singh (Uttarakhand) Head Constable Awadhesh Kumar Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) Constable Ratan Kumar Thakur (Bihar) Constable Pankaj Kumar Tripathi (Uttar Pradesh) Constable Jeet Ram (Rajasthan) Constable Amit Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) Constable Vijay Kr. Mourya (Uttar Pradesh) Constable Kulwinder Singh (Punjab) Head Constable Maneswar Bsumatari (Assam) Assistant Sub Inspector Mohan Lal (Uttarakhand) Head Constable Sanjay Kumar Sinha (Bihar) Head Constable Ram Vakeel (Uttar Pradesh) Constable Sudeep Biswas (West Bengal) Constable Sivachandran (Tamil Nadu)
