Rajouri, Aug 11: One woman was killed and 14 persons injured when army troopers allegedly fired on a passenger bus at a Forest post in Bego Nara near Thanamandi town Wednesday morning. A woman grazing cattle in the nearby field was also hit by a bullet. However, police said the bus was trapped in cross-firing between militants and troops.
“The army troopers opened indiscriminate fire targeting the passenger bus,” mother of an injured child, Shokeen Begam told Greater Kashmir.
“My son Irfan Ahmed son of Ghulam Mohuiddin of Qazi Mohalla Poonch suffered critical bullet injuries in his neck and chin in army firing,” Begam, who had a close shave in the incident, said.
Another critically injured woman, Gul Begam wife of Talib Hussain of ward number-8 (Thanamandi), who sustained bullet injury in her shoulder, said, “I was grazing cattle in the fields when I was fired upon by the army troopers.”
 The injured passengers told Greater Kashmir that the alertness of the bus driver saved them as he did not stop the bus at the spot and drove it away to sub-district hospital Thanamandi.
 Police, however, said that militants attacked an army Gypsy of Commanding Officer belonging to 48 Rashtriya Rifles near Thanamandi at 8:30 am.
 “The body guards of the CO retaliated. In the meantime, a passenger bus from Poonch traveling towards Jammu reached the spot and it got trapped in the exchange of fire between militants and troopers in which 15 passengers, including its driver, were injured among whom a woman died,” SSP Rajouri, Romesh Kumar Jhalla, told Greater Kashmir.
 The dead passenger has been identified as Kiran Bala wife of Sat Paul of Garali Rajouri.
 Deputy Inspector General of Police, Poonch Range, S D Singh Jamwal said the bus was passing through the area at the time of the militant attack.
 Three critically injured passengers were airlifted to Government Medical College Hospital Jammu for advance treatment. They have been identified as Swaran Kanta wife of Omesh Kumar of Udhampur district, Irfan Ahmed son of Ghulam Mohuidin of Qazi Mohalla Poonch and Gul Begam wife of Talib Hussain of ward number-1 Thanamandi Rajouri.
 The other injured passengers are Chindia Bakarwal (50) and his brother Muhammad Yousuf (40) son of Malli both residents of Harinarhote in Surankote tehsil (Poonch), Muhammad Yousuf son of Muhammad Shafi of Darab (Poonch), Sanjay Kumar (26) son of Ram Prakesh of Sawani Drati (Rajouri), Noor Muhammad son of Nobet Ali of Badywn (Uttar Pradesh), Arshad Hussain (18) son of Muhammed Ayoub of Jhallas (Poonch).

MILITANT KILLED IN KISHTWAR:
 A militant was killed today in a gun-battle with troops in Kishtwar district, officials said. Troops launched a cordon and search operation in Keshwan belt. On seeing the troops, the militant started firing. In the retaliatory fire, one LeT militant was killed and a rifle recovered from his person, they said.

NC SEEKS PROBE:
 District President National Conference Rajouri, Bashir Wani, along with senior NC leaders Liaqat Choudhary and Advocate Parvez have appealed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to order immediate probe in the firing.
 In a statement, Bashir Wani said that they have severe doubt on the firing on civil bus and it must be probed. “Although army and police are terming the firing as militant attack, the locals have no faith on these statements and they are claiming that the firing was carried out by some men in uniform,” he said adding that the incident must be probed by a sitting judge of High Court.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST