Grenade attack kills teen at Jammu bus stand, Hizb suspect caught: Cops

The arrested terrorist, who hails from South Kashmir’s Kulgam, was tasked by Farooq Ahmed Bhat, district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen to carry out the grenade attack at the Jammu bus stand.

The Jammu Police, with the help of CCTV footage and eye-witness accounts, have arrested the person who had lobbed a grenade at the Jammu Bus Stand around 11.50 am on Thursday.

A sniffer dog and police officer inspect the site of a grenade blast at the Jammu bus stand on Thursday. (Nitin Kanotra / Hindustan Times)

Addressing media persons here, Jammu region IGP, MK Sinha said, “Around 11.50 am on Thursday, a grenade blast took place at the bus stand in which civilians were injured.”

Sinha said that as soon as the police got the information, they rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to the Government Medical College and Hospital where one of the injured - 17-year-old Mohammed Sharik from Haridwar - succumbed to his injuries.

The IGP said that of the 32 people who were injured in the attack, 10 belonged to Jammu, 11 to Kashmir and nine were from other states. “Two of the injured are still unidentified,” he added.

“He was seen fleeing the area immediately after the blast. We immediately shared the CCTV footage and other details of the suspect with the police check posts and instructed them to thoroughly check the vehicles leaving Jammu City. The man was spotted at the Ban Toll Plaza and was immediately apprehended,” said Sinha.

Sinha said that during preliminary questioning, “He disclosed that Farooq Ahmed Bhat, district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen in Kulgam, had given him the task and had provided him a grenade. On Wednesday, he left Kashmir and reached Jammu in the morning where he lobbed the grenade at the bus stand.”

The officer also said that it was not possible to say at the moment if any other person was also involved with him.