JAMMU: Jammu & Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh on Friday announced cash awards and commendation for a police party, an ex-village defence committee (VDC) member and some alert locals for their promptness in collection and seizure of relevant data and Amraam missile remnants, which were shared with local army formations without any loss of time.

According to a police spokesperson, around 10.15 am on February 27, a telephone call was received from an ex-VDC member that due to an explosion caused by an unidentified aerial projectile at Mamankote Mallas village under Chassana tehsil of Reasi district, one Bagh Hussain had received grievous injuries.

Based on this information, an FIR was filed at Chassana police station and a police party was immediately rushed to the spot, the spokesperson said, adding that the injured man was then provided medical assistance.

“Chassana SHO Ali Imran stayed back with his team on the spot for further investigation. He saw that the impact of the aerial projectile was so great that splinters were scattered 50-100 metres around a crater and remnants of the projectile were lying adjacent to it,” the spokesperson said.

Beside the crater, a glass pile was lying, he added. While minutely examining the site, the SHO could make out something embedded in it. “What he fished out was a body cover metal piece of the projectile weighing approximately 6kg-7kg with ‘AIM-120C-5, SERNO CC12497, 82577-3819625-104, MFR-15090 CONTRACT FA 8675-05-C-0070, GUIDED MISSILE AAV’ written on it,” he said.

Further search of markings on the metal piece revealed that AIM-120C is an Amraam used by a select category of fighter planes, including some used by Pakistan .

Realizing the importance of the seizure, their digital pictures were immediately taken and shared with senior formations of police and other agencies.

“The time of occurrence (of the aerial projectile explosion) coincided with the time when there was an alert on account of reports of attempt of incursions into the Indian territory by fighter planes of Pakistan in Poonch and Rajouri districts,” the spokesperson said.

As per directions of senior officers, the seized materials were handed over to local Army representatives for further investigation.

