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June 9, 2024: Widow of bus driver killed in Reasi attack continue to bear the loss
Almost 10 days after the attack, the police had arrested a local guide Hakam Din for helping terrorists with logistics, food and shelter in lieu of ₹6,000.
Life has never been the same again for Renu Devi who lost her husband Vijay Kumar, 41, on June 9, 2024, terror attack near Reasi’s Shiv Khori shrine.
Nine people lost their lives and 33 others were injured after a bus carrying pilgrims from Shiv Khori cave shrine to Katra in Reasi district fell into a gorge after it came under terrorist attack in Teryath village in Pouni area on June 9, 2024. Almost 10 days after the attack, the police had arrested a local guide Hakam Din for helping terrorists with logistics, food and shelter in lieu of ₹6,000.
Among the deceased was bus driver, Vijay Kumar. Kumar was shot on his head and chest following which the bus fell into the gorge.
Sharing her journey since the death of her husband Vijay, Renu Devi says, “After losing my husband to gun wielding terrorists, life has never been the same again. Though the government has provided me with a Class 4 job in a government to sustain livelihood, I am living with just one purpose--to raise my two minor sons.”
“The terrorists mercilessly sprayed bullets on the bus driven by my husband. They wanted to kill everyone on board,” she said.
Renu Devi’s two sons today study in nursery and Class 5.
“Today I live with my two brothers-in-law and their families in Panasar. How life would be for a woman, whose husband was killed in a terror attack. I also heard that police arrested a local guide for his involvement but that do I have to do with it, I lost my husband. The attackers ruined the lives of so many families. They are not humans,” she said.
In 2023, Jammu region witnessed a renewed surge in Pak sponsored terror attacks and one such attack on January 1 still remains fresh in the minds of the people when armed terrorists had killed seven Hindus in Dhangri village of Rajouri, including a three year old toddler and a 16-year-old girl.
