Man behind car blast in J&K tried to target CRPF convoy, arrested: Police

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Updated: Apr 01, 2019 15:33 IST

A suspected militant, who tried to repeat a Pulwama-like attack on a CRPF convoy on March 30 on Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district, was arested on Monday.

He is being questioned and has allegedly confessed to his crime, police sources said.

A CRPF vehicle, part of a convoy from Srinagar to Jammu, had suffered damage when a Santro car exploded at Tethar village, 7 km from Banihal while the convoy was passing through the area on March 30 around 10.30 am.

The police had said commercial LPG cylinders were recovered from the car but there items recovered from the spot which suggested the explosion was part of a plan.

“We cannot rule out the possibility of foul play,” Ramban district police chief Anita Sharma had said. She added that some items which can be utilized for explosives have been found.

The Santro driver managed to flee before the fire engulfed the vehicle. Forensic experts had recovered LPG cylinders, a can filled with petrol, gelatin stick, urea and sulphur, the pre-requisites for making improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from the spot.

A massive hunt was launched and finally the suspected militant was arrested in the early hours of Monday and is being questioned, the sources said.

A team of NIA had rushed to the spot on March 30 to investigate the incident, which had triggered panic in the area.

Despite repeated attempts Ramban district SSP Anita Sharma, deputy commissioner Showkat Aijaz Bhat and IGP Jammu region MK Sinha could not be reached for their comments.

On February 14, a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber had rammed his car into a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama killing 40 CRPF personnel.