Bodies of four killed in J&K bus terror attack arrive in Jaipur

Cloth merchant Rajendra Saini, his wife Mamta, their relative Pooja and her two-year-old son were among those who were killed in the attack

The damaged inside of the bus carrying pilgrims that was ambushed by terrorists, in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir on June 10, 2024. File | Photo Credit: PTI

The bodies of four victims of the June 9 terror attack on a bus in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district arrived by train in Jaipur on Tuesday and were taken to their home towns for cremation. The Rajasthan government announced financial assistance of ₹50 lakh to each of the two families of the victims following the protests staged by the local people outside two police stations.

The family members and relatives of the deceased received the bodies at Jaipur railway station when they arrived on the Pooja Express train running between Jammu and Ajmer. Cloth merchant Rajendra Saini, 42, his wife Mamta, 40, their relative Pooja Saini, 30, and her two-year-old son, Lavyansh, were among the nine persons killed in the attack by terrorists on a bus carrying pilgrims.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the Murlipura police station on the outskirts of Jaipur and the Chomu police station, 32 km away from Jaipur, demanding financial assistance and government jobs to the members of the victims’ families.

Rajya Sabha member Rajendra Gehlot met the family members and assured them of assistance from the State government. Mr. Gehlot said he would bear the expenses for the education of Rajendra Saini’s children. Pooja’s husband Pawan Saini survived the attack. Rajendra and Mamta, from Chomu town in Jaipur district, were Pooja’s paternal uncle and aunt.

Pooja lived along with her husband and son in Harmada area on the outskirts of Jaipur. The bodies of the deceased were cremated late on Tuesday evening.

Shortly after the protests, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma announced the financial assistance of ₹50 lakh each to the two families. According to the agreements signed by the protesters at the two police stations, the State government will also appoint two persons from the families of victims to contractual jobs at the State Secretariat or Municipal Council and allot dairy booths to them.

Mr. Sharma said in a post on social media platform X that the State government was committed to providing every possible support to the families of the deceased. “New India has a zero tolerance policy against terrorism under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added.