New Delhi: February 14 etched itself as a black day in the history of India, as it was on this day in 2019, that 40 CRPF personnel were martyred in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama.
In one of the deadliest attacks in the Valley, a 'Fidayeen' bomber belonging to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terror outfit rammed an explosive-laden SUV into a bus carrying CRPF troopers in Lethpora area of Pulwama district on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway.
The CRPF convoy of 78 vehicles was coming from Jammu to Srinagar, and carried 2,547 CRPF personnel.
The audacious attack, the worst-ever since armed insurgency started in the state in 1989, was carried out by the JeM, and left the entire security establishment stunned.
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Bravehearts of CRPF who made the supreme sacrifice and attained martyrdom in the Pulwama attack on 14/02/2019. pic.twitter.com/eHrPnYaSGV
— 🇮🇳CRPF🇮🇳 (@crpfindia) February 15, 2019 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Bravehearts of CRPF who made the supreme sacrifice and attained martyrdom in the Pulwama attack on 14/02/2019. pic.twitter.com/eHrPnYaSGV
— 🇮🇳CRPF🇮🇳 (@crpfindia) February 15, 2019Bravehearts of CRPF who made the supreme sacrifice and attained martyrdom in the Pulwama attack on 14/02/2019. pic.twitter.com/eHrPnYaSGV
— 🇮🇳CRPF🇮🇳 (@crpfindia) February 15, 2019
A video released by the JeM after the attack identified the suicide bomber as Adil Ahmad Dar alias Waqas Commando, belonging to Kakapora town of Pulwama district.
The explosion was so massive that its sound was heard 10 km away.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will today pay tributes by dedicating a martyr's column to the memory of the jawans who were martyred.
CRPF's Special Director General Zulfikhar Hassan, Inspector General Kashmir zone Rajesh Kumar, and senior officers and other force personnel will pay homage to the fallen jawans at the CRPF training centre, Letpora in Pulwama. A blood donation camp will be also be held.
A day after the attack, on February 15, PM Narendra Modi paid homage to the martyrs, and laid wreaths on their mortal remains.
The bodies of 40 troopers were air-transported in a special plane from Srinagar to Palam airbase in Delhi.
Modi circumambulated the mortal remains after paying tribute, with top political leaders and the chiefs of the armed forces also paying their tributes.
The aftermath of the attack led to massive public outcry, with people from all walks of life taking to the streets in different parts of the country to express their anguish and anger and lodge a strong protest against the terror attack.
Celebrities also condemned the terror attack, describing it as "barbaric", "tragic" and a "heinous crime against humanity".
Following the attack, political leaders blurred ideological differences, as they came together on the issue of national security. As Home Minister Amit Shah requested all parties to rise above politics, Congress President Rahul Gandhi asserted that terrorism cannot divide India and pledged the support of the entire Opposition to the government, promising not to raise any contentious and political issues.
A day after the attack, in a stern message to Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the terrorists committed their "worst mistake" by killing CRPF troopers, and said their backers will pay "a very big price". On the same day, the Cabinet Committee on Security also decided to withdraw the "Most Favoured Nation" (MFN) status given to Pakistan. The MFN status to Pakistan was given by India in 1996.
A pall of gloom combined with anger and patriotic fervour was witnessed across the country as the tricolour-bedecked mortal remains of the martyrs reached their homes and last rites conducted with full state honours.
Emotions poured out on the streets during the last rites attended by ministers, political leaders and local officials, as people who raised slogans in support of the CRPF and demanded that the government should avenge the deaths and give a befitting reply to the Pakistan-backed terrorists.
However, twelve days after the attack, in the early hours of February 26, the Indian Air Force struck the Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp at Balakote in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, killing a very large number of terrorists and their trainers.
"In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jehadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated. This facility at Balakote was headed by Maulana Yusuf Azhar (alias Ustad Gauri), the brother-in-law of (JeM leader) Masood Azhar," Foreign Secretary Vijay K Gokhale informed.
But tensions between the neighbours escalated a day later, as a dogfight ensued between IAF and Pakistan Air Force fighter jets near the Line of Control.
IAF's 35-year-old Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by Pakistan after his MiG-21 Bison crashed in Pakistani territory. He remained in captivity for over 60 hours before Pakistani finally ended the high-pitch drama and uncertainty by handing Varthaman over to India.
(With inputs from IANS)
