In a first, Jammu Police has recovered a perfume improvised explosive device (IED) from a terrorist associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba who was involved in the twin blasts that took place in Narwal on January 21.
The police arrested a terrorist identified as Arif who was in contact with the Pakistani handlers for three years.
As many as nine people were injured in the twin blasts that occurred in Narwal last month in a gap of 20 minutes.
The police said that the terrorists intended to kill as many people as possible.
The second IED, according to the police, could have caused bigger damage, which the terrorists intended, had the police not followed the SOPs.
"Two bombs were planted on January 20. Two blasts occurred on January 21 at a gap of 20 minutes to kill as many people as possible. 9 people were injured after the first IED blast. The damage that was intended could be averted because of the SOPs followed by the police. Otherwise, the damage could have been bigger because the first IED was small but the second IED was way bigger than the first. Police have arrested one terrorist Arif, who was in contact with Pakistan handlers for 3 years," Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said while briefing the media about the incident.
Stating that this is the first such IED recovered by the police, the DGP explained that the IED would blast if an attempt is made to press or open it.
"This is the first time we have recovered a perfume IED. We have not recovered any perfume IED before. The IED will blast if anyone tries to press or open it. Our special team will handle that IED," he said.
DGP Singh targeted Pakistan for propagating terrorism from its land and said that the country wanted to create a "communal divide" among people in the Union Territory.
"Pakistan is infamous for propagating terrorism from its land and for killing hundreds of innocent people across the world. Jammu and Kashmir is on target for some time. They (Pakistan) want to create a communal divide among the people in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
DGP said Arif has been involved in Shastri Nagar Blast and also Katra Bus blast apart from the Narwal twin blasts.
Speaking to ANI, DGP Singh said, "The accused got the supply of three IEDs towards the end of December. He used two IEDs in the Narwal area. He is working under the influence of Qasim, a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist operating from Pakistan. He is responsible for recent terror activities in the area."
Meanwhile, soon after the blasts occurred on January 21, senior officials of the Army and Security Impact Analysis (SIA) teams also reached the site of the incident.
A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) also reached Jammu on January 22 to hold an investigation at the site of two explosions in the industrial area Narwal.
The Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha also strongly condemned the blasts that took place in the Narwal area this morning. Senior police officials briefed the Lt Governor about the blast and on the state of the investigation. He called for urgent steps to identify and take action against those responsible.
"Such dastardly acts highlight the desperation and cowardice of those responsible. Take immediate and firm action. No efforts should be spared to bring the perpetrators to justice," the Lt Governor told the security officials.
LG Manoj Sinha also announced a relief of Rs 50,000 to those injured in the incident. The Lt Governor said that the administration would ensure the best possible treatment and extend every help required by the families.
Sheralli, an eyewitness of the blast, while narrating the harrowing incident said, "We were sitting inside a shop at that time of the blast. The car blew up and parts of it fell near the shop. A person was hit by one of those parts. The other blast took place half an hour later at some distance. Initially, people thought that it was a gas blast in the car but it sounded bigger than that. It was an SUV car and the mechanics were repairing it. "People are in panic now," she added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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