Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), the outfit behind the Pulwama terror attack that left 40 CRPF jawans dead this day last year, “stands decimated”, a top CRPF official on Friday said, even as a memorial was inaugurated and floral tributes were paid to the deceased jawans in a low-key ceremony in Lethpora.
“We took JeM head on soon after the Lethpora attack. All the JeM men, including its top commanders involved in the attack, were killed in concerted operations. Today, it stands decimated,” Additional Director General, CRPF, Zulfikar Hassan, said.
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On the progress in the investigation, he said, “The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is investigating the attack. It has made huge progress in the case”.
According to official data, 38 members of the JeM, including nine commanders, were killed after the Pulwama attack.
The outfit's move to gather muscle to carry out more attacks were blunted with the killing of commander Qari Yasir and Moosa alias Abu Usmaan from Pakistan in an encounter in Hasipora Tral in Pulwama on January 25 this year.
“Yasir did pose a potential threat. His killing has brought down the recruitment of locals and the outfit's striking capability”, said a top counter-insurgency police officer.
The official data suggest that at least 10 JeM supporters were arrested this year, mostly in Awantipora-Pulwama axis, which remains the hub of the outfit for many years now.
JeM’s local suicide bomber, Adil Dar, detonated an explosives-laden car near a CRPF convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway. India launched air strikes inside Pakistan in response to the attack and hit several militants camps later in February last year.
Tributes paid
Senior officials of all the wings of the security forces — including the Army, the J&K police and the CRPF — laid wreaths at the memorial to pay tributes to the jawans. Their names, ranks and battalions were displayed on the occasion.
Umesh Gopinath Jadhav from Maharashtra was the special guest at the wreath-laying ceremony. He had travelled around 61,000 km to meet the families of the jawans and collected soil from their lawns.
“The soil collected from the homes of all the 40 bravehearts was presented to the CRPF and hopefully will be part of the memorial. This is a little contribution that makes me feel proud today,” he said.
Paying his tributes, J&K Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu said, “The country is indebted to all these martyrs and will always remember their valour and sacrifice”.
However, no politician attended the commemoration event.
