Supreme Court dismisses petition seeking probe by retired top court judge into Pulwama terror attack

More than 2,500 CRPF personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were attacked at around 3.15 pm on February 14.

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking probe by a retired top court judge into Pulwama terror attack that left 40 jawan dead following a suicide attack on their convoy at Lethpora on Jammu-Srinagar highway on February 14.

Soldiers at the explosion site in Lethpora in south Kashmir's Pulwama district. (Reuters photo)

More than 2,500 CRPF personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were attacked at around 3.15 pm .

Read: NIA says close to solving case, finds ‘clear’ Pakistan link in Pulwama attack

The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack that took place about 20 km from Srinagar, officials had said. Police identified the suicide bomber as Adil Ahmed, who officials said joined the Jaish in 2018. He was driving a vehicle packed with over 100 kg of explosives on the wrong side of the road and hit the bus, in which an estimated 39-44 personnel were travelling, head-on, an official at the spot had said.

In a related case, the top court on Friday issued a notice to the central government and 11 states, seeking their response on a plea for its intervention to prevent the alleged attacks on Kashmiri students after the terror attack .

The notice was issued to Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

The court asked the chiefs of the state police to ensure the safety of Kashmiris.