Kashmir - 12 women, child killed; 4 injured critical 25 killed, 35 hurt as terrorists strike a slum

JAMMU, July 13: In a first major strike on a civilian locality here, the terrorists tonight struck in slum locality of Rajiv Nagar on Narwal By-Pass road killing atleast 25 civilians including 12 women and a child and wounding 35 others, five of them seriously. Making a mockery of the security apparatus, the terrorists, who were in guise of the ‘Sadhus’ managed to escape after wreaking a havoc on the slum dwellers.

The terrorist attack, which came just nine days before the beginning of annual Amarnath pilgrimage, was directly targeted against the civilians of Rajiv Nagar near Qasim Nagar, mostly inhibited by the labourers including locals as well as outsiders. This was the first incident of its kind on peripheries of the City where the terrorists rained bullets and lobbed grenades on the civilians taking a heavy toll.

As the terrorists’ strike caught police unawares, the administration late tonight alerted army to carry out a search operation in Sidhra, a possible escape route of the terrorists, who numbered between three to five. Besides, police and para-military personnel, led by the senior officers, were searching the terrorists in the forest areas of Mahamaya, Sunjawan and surroundings but there had been no break-through till mid-night.

DIG Jammu-Kathua range Dilbagh Singh told EXCELSIOR while supervising the search operation at Rajiv Nagar that atleast four to five terrorists, all of whom were reportedly wearing dresses of the Sadhus, descended on Rajiv Nagar Basti after trekking through two hills of Bhatindi parallel to two towers at about 1920 hours.

The terrorists, equipped with AK rifles and grenades, first made the devotees, who were offering prayers inside a temple in the Basti, their target. They lobbed grenades on the temple and resorted to indiscriminate firing. Thereafter, the ultras showered bullets on hapless dwellers and lobbed several grenades killing and wounding many of them.

Like Kaluchak massacre, the terrorists even didn’t spare the women and children. The women and young girls were shot while cooking food inside the dwellings while the men were killed while taking rest on the beds outside the dwellings. A group of people, watching live India-England Natwest series final on the television set, were also shot dead by the terrorists, the eye-witnesses and police told a visiting EXCELSIOR correspondent.

Even after playing the dance of death, the terrorists stayed in the locality for more than one hour. At about 2010 hours, this correspondent heard sound of gun shots aimed at a police Gypsy when its driver switched on the lights to look for the victims. As Gypsy driver switched off the lights, the firing stopped.

Local police officers including SP South Raghubir Singh, SDPO Sanjay Sharma and SHO, who were mobile, rushed to Rajiv Nagar after hearing sound of gun shots. SSP Jammu Farooq Khan and SP (Operations) Raghubir Singh also reached the scene of firing. Locals alleged that they informed Bagh-e-Bahu police station of the incident soon after the firing started but an official at police station asked them to approach Trikuta Nagar police station saying Rajiv Nagar was not under his jurisdiction.

Electricity supply in the locality was off when the terrorists’ struck. Restoration of power supply was got delayed by police to prevent escape of the terrorists. However, the decision failed to have any impact on the terrorists’ escape.

Local people alleged that police took enough time to rescue the civilians from the locality which might have resulted into many injured succumbing for want of treatment. A rescue operation was started by police only after firing stopped from the terrorists’ side.

Five bodies were brought out from the temple besides some injured. Many people had died sleeping on the beds and women in their small kitchen. Trails of blood were lying all over the slum locality.

As soon as police personnel made their entry inside Rajiv Nagar Basti, a large number of people, who had hidden themselves inside their dwellings, rushed out and started looking for their other family members and relatives, who were either dead or seriously injured.

Victims were rushed to the Medical College hospital in police and private vehicles. Till mid-night, hospital authorities confirmed 25 civilians as dead while 35 others were injured. Of 25 fatal casualties, 12 each were male and females while another victim was a child. Of 35 injured, condition of four was still stated to be critical. Three seriously injured victims were being operated upon in the Medical College. Medical Superintendent Dr Romesh Gupta and Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Yashpal Sharma were supervising arrangements for the victims alongwith senior doctors.

All the victims were slum dwellers of Rajiv Nagar. Many of them were the labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh while others were local labourers.

While police officers maintained that all the terrorists were in the guise of Sadhus and had come from the side of two towers at Bhatindi, some of the local people insisted that two of the ultras were wearing salwar-kameez while three others were wearing dresses of the Sadhus.

Police officers confirmed escape of the terrorists after carrying out a search operation in the locality for more than one hour. However, police and para-military personnel (after shifting the victims to hospital) fanned out in the forest areas of Mahamaya and Sunjawan to chase the terrorists anticipating that they might have taken shelter in the forest area.

Official sources said the authorities have also alerted army to look for the terrorists in Sidhra forests, which was another possible route the terrorists could use to escape. All search operations had failed to yield any result when reports last came in the mid-night.

Local people in Rajiv Nagar and adjoining localities were agitated over police failure to carry out searches in Bhatindi Rakh and Sunjawan. They claimed that they had been observing movement of mysterious persons in the two localities and had also informed police. But, they regretted that no searches were carried out in the localities.

This was third major incident in the temple City and outskirts during last three and a half months. On March 30, two fidayeens had struck near Ragunath temple killing 11 civilians. The fidayeens were killed within 10 minutes of the attack. On May 14, three fidayeens stormed inside family quarters of army at Kaluchak killing 32 persons and wounding several others. All three fidayeen were gunned down. These two fidayeen strikes had preceded two grenade explosions at Kanak Mandi and Hari Market in the City.

A general alert was sounded tonight by police authorities in the entire City and outskirts. All police stations and nakas were put on high alert and asked to carry out searches for the terrorists.

Authorities were worried over the first major terrorists strike on City’s outskirts especially as it came at a time when annual Amarnath pilgrimage was about to begin in a week’s time. The fact that the terrorists were wearing Sadhus’ dresses dropped enough hints that Amarnath pilgrimage was high on the terrorists’ agenda.

The Government has, meanwhile, convened a meeting of all political parties and prominent citizens at Raj Bhawan tomorrow morning to review law and order situation in Jammu.

Meanwhile, the injured have been identified as Pappi, son of Shanker Dass, Sandeep, Kala Devi, Kalu, Vinod Kumar, Pappu, Vijay Kumar, Kiran, Santosh, Randhu, Rajesh Kumar, Harbans Lal, Shanti, Parveen, Sarishta, Ravi, Rakhi, Muni Devi, Sanjay, Anil, Chiman, Manoj Kumar, Sohan, Nanak Ram, Ahmed Din, Gangoo, Soni Devi, Ashok, Ved Kumari, Tinku, Pathani and Bansi Lal.

JAMMU, July 13: For the inhabitants of saucer shaped locality of Rajiv Nagar on Narwal By-Pass this was a evening when death danced for over one hour and swallowed everyone coming its way. The basti within minutes turned into a graveyard with either dead or injured person in each and every Juggie.

Till the perpetrators of blood-shed and mayhem remained in the Basti, fathers could not wail over the killing of their kins, women’s voices chocked even seeing husbands and children in pool of blood and injured tolerated pains without uttering even a single word fearing any noise would further invite terrorists’ wrath.

Some survivors saw their near and dear ones succumbing to injuries in Jhuggies as they couldn’t venture to brave terrorists’ bullets to evacuate injured and shift them to a place where their lives could have been saved.

Till the terrorists managed to escape from the Basti amidst deployment of heavy posse of security personnel, it seemed that Basti was being ruled by those 5-6 gun wielding personnel and there was none to stop them from shedding the blood of innocents.

What to talk of those hapless people breathing at the will of terrorists even the police personnel with assault rifles in their hands could not move forward to collect injured and dead due to severe assault by the terrorists. A number of policemen were seen shouting at each and everyone trying to enter the Basti— "don’t go. Stop moving ahead as you can be a victim".

The evening full of blood-shed started with the big bangs of grenade bursts and within next sometime grief and tension surrounded the entire basti mostly inhabited by labourers. Some youths who managed to escape were guiding the police personnel as to where the dead bodies were lying.

The most horrifying incident came into light when firing from terrorists’ side stopped and security personnel made their entry into the Basti to track down the ultas and evacuate the injured.

After every five minutes police personnel were coming out carrying either injured or dead and this process continued for about more than an hour. This visiting correspondent saw people coming out from each and every Juggie with either writhing in pain or wailing over the death of their near and dear ones.

Such was the heart-rendering post-attack scene that even police personnel could not stop them from saying "this is the worst and terrible attack. What horrendous has happened with them (labourers) is out of anybody’s imagination". Body after body and injured after injured were continuously coming out of the Jhuggies which resulted into shortage of ambulances and police personnel were forced to shift the injured in their official vehicles.

There was a pall of gloom in the entire area, as a large number of people of the area were not knowing the whereabouts of their relatives and family members.

"Some of my family members are still there either dead, injured or alive, which is not known to me. I received two bullets fired by a militant and was rescued", a youth Sanjay with shoulder and arm injuries at Government Medical College and Hospital said.

Sanjay recalled that terrorists, who were heavily armed, looked thin and tall and had come from nullah crossing high mountain peak and at once threw grenades and resorted to firing.

A 54-years old widow, Rama Devi said "I do not know whether my son is dead or alive, amid heavy intermittent exchanges of firing" and after that she could not utter even a single word as tears started rolling down her cheeks and after a long pause she said "Bhagwan Mere Bete Ko Salamat Rakhe".

The scene in the Government Medical College and Hospital was that even some of the members of hospital staff could not control their emotions and tears rolled down their cheeks. While the injured were being given treatment in different wings of Emergency, the women who lost their near and dear ones were wailing outside the Emergency Ward and few of them fell unconscious due to shock.

In the morgue of the hospital there were heaps of dead bodies and a large number of labourers were lining up to trace out their family members. "I have scanned all the wards of the Emergency Wing of the hospital and could not find my two sons and now I will scan the dead bodies", said one Vinod and asked "Babuji Bhagwan Se Dua Karo Ki Mera Bacha Thik Thak Ho".

Yes. But they're indiscriminate. Other posts on Kashmir will show you they kill muslims too, one of the most heinous being the beheading of a young muslim girl on her wedding night; she was accused of 'collaborating' with the indian security forces.

In the Kaluchak atrocity, they killed parents and dependents of indian soldiers (hindus, sikhs, christians and muslims) in the army housing quarters.

I fail to see what these terrorists are accomplishing with these horrendous acts. This one seemed primarily directed at Hindus, so I guess I could argue that it is some sort of ethnic cleansing, but they do seem to kill civilians randomly most of the time.

It certainly doesn't seem likely to win the hearts and minds of the civilian population.

Attacking ckildren - yeah, it's the Muslims again....

An Indian slum dweller holds his injured son, while standing beside a family member, in a hospital in Jammu city, the winter capital of the state of Kashmir, July 13, 2002. At least 14 people, including one child and six women, were killed and 15 others wounded in a shooting spree by militants in India's restive Kashmir region, police said on Saturday. REUTERS/Arun Singh

Sat Jul 13, 2:30 PM ET

Sun Jul 14, 9:58 AM ET

Relatives try to console a loved one during a funeral ceremony at the Jogi Gate cremation grounds in Jammu, winter capital of the northern Jammu and Kashmir state on July 14, 2002. Indian leaders held an emergency meeting on Sunday after gunmen, some dressed as Hindu holymen, attacked and killed 27 slum dwellers listening to a cricket match over the radio. The attack stoked war fears between India and Pakistan. (Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters)

Sat Jul 13, 4:45 PM ET

Children injured in a grenades attack on a shantytown near Jammu lie in a bed in a local hospital in Jammu, India, Saturday, July 13, 2002. At least 25 people were killed and more than 30 were wounded when suspected Islamic guerrillas threw grenades at Qasimnagar shantytown before engaging in a gunbattle with security forces. (AP Photo/M.Mahajan)

Dar es Salaam versus Dar El Harb. India is unfinished business for the jihadis. Remember Osama mentioned Kashmir as one of the prime goals of his jihad in the September video.

Hinduism needs to be destroyed; hindus converted or killed. Of course, Jews and Christians are people of the 'book' of 'revealed releigions' so they get a pass from the jihadis. Believe that, and i have a great island for sale off the coast of Morocco.

The violence Makes sense if you take the goal of a worldwide islamic state seriously. Many don't and think that there can be accomodation with the moderates; but not until all the jihadis have been killed.

Thank you. That's what I thought, but of all the sh!t that's going on in the middle east, THIS seems the most pointless and horrendous. What IS their point???

Going away for several days.....maybe it'll be good to get away from the news for a while. It just gets crazier.

Believe that, and i have a great island for sale off the coast of Morocco.

LOL, great line.

We need a global campaign to eradicate these terrorists and their movements. It will take years, but we need to crush them like bugs.

India faces a problem much like the US...the mo-slime populace is within the gates. And the pictures reveal what they do from their position of trust.

It's too bad the US doesn't get this news. We might come to certain conclusions about the mo-slimes...

This is India's seder massacre except it happened over there so we don't hear about it. Note the brave jihadis attacked a slum where people were likely to be unarmed. I don't want to hear any more propaganda or give equal time to a culture or religion that produces such madness.

I wish the Hindus would reach back into their warrior past and revive a concept of self defense. The jihadis would run.

"I fail to see what these terrorists are accomplishing with these horrendous acts. This one seemed primarily directed at Hindus, "

One, terror, pure and simple, to intimidate and terrify the population. To get metaphysical, IMO, the jihadis feed off of and exult in the pain and suffering they inflict. When they die in their operations, they know they will be glorified by their peers and "religious" inspirational and motivational mullahs in the mosques.

Second; ethnic cleansing; create conditions that make people want to leave. Then a muslim majority can be claimed. And another geographical entity can be claimed for the daressalaam.

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