A dastardly terrorist attack on Thursday, February 14, claimed the lives of 45 CRPF personnel and the cricket community led by Virat Kohli has condemned the incident that took place in the Pulwama district of South Kashmir.
The attack took place around 3:15 PM on Thursday when a 'suicide bomber' belonging to the 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, officials said. All soldiers in the bus that was attacked with 350 kilograms of explosives succumbed to the blast and as many as 38 soldiers were wounded.
"None among the 44 CRPF men travelling in the bus that took the full impact of the suicide bombing survived ... an injured person in another bus has also succumbed taking the death toll to 45," a CRPF official told IANS. The official added that said the injured CRPF men are being treated in the Army base hospital in Badamibagh cantonment area of Srinagar.
This tragic incident has shaken the entire nation of India and the cricketing community has joined the unanimous condemnation of this terrorist attack. Captain of the Indian cricket team Kohli offered his heartfelt condolences to the martyred soldiers.
I'm shocked after hearing about the attack in Pulwama, heartfelt condolences to the martyred soldiers & prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured jawaans.
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) February 15, 2019
Sachin Tendulkar called the act cowardly, dastardly and meaningless.
Cowardly, dastardly, meaningless...... my heart goes out to the families of those who lost their loved ones and prayers for recovery of those brave hearts in hospital. Salute to your commitment to “Service and Loyalty” @crpfindia!
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) February 15, 2019
Virender Sehwag called it a cowardly attacked and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured while hinting at a backlash.
Really pained by the cowardly attack on our CRPF in J&K in which our brave men have been martyred . No words are enough to describe the pain. I wish a speedy recovery to those injured.#SudharJaaoWarnaSudhaarDenge
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 14, 2019
The likes of Rohit Sharma, VVS Laxman and Mohammad Kaif also condemned the attack while extending their thoughts and prayers to families of the martyred.
Shocked and horrified by what happened #Pulwama. The day we all celebrated love some cowards spread hatred. Thinking about the jawans and their families. India keep them in your prayers.
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) February 15, 2019
Sad and pained to hear about the dastardly attack on our brave CRPF men in #Pulwama in which many of our jawans have been martyred . I pray for a quick and speedy recovery of those injured in the attack.
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) February 14, 2019
Deeply saddened and disturbed by the news. I condemn the terror attack in #Pulwama. My condolences to the families of the jawans who sacrificed their lives.
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) February 14, 2019
Really pained to hear about the attack on our #CRPF men who have been martyred in the attack in J&K. I pray the coward attackers are taught a lesson at the earliest.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) February 14, 2019
Appalled and deeply disturbed by the news of CRPF jawans killed in Kashmir's Pulwama. My thoughts and prayers with the martyrs' families.
— Suresh Raina?? (@ImRaina) February 14, 2019
Disturbed by the incident in #Pulwama. My thoughts are with the families and friends of our brave CRPF jawans, who laid down their lives for the country. Let’s all do our bit to help the families during their dark hours and remember the soldiers in our prayers.
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) February 15, 2019
The attack was carried out by a 22-year-old suicide bomber named Adil Ahmad Dar. Adil, a resident of Kakapora village in Pulwama, was a school dropout described by his schoolmates as a quiet and shy person.
Following the deadly Pulwama attack, a video of Adil outlining his intentions went viral on social media. Here, he said that attack would be carried out to avenge the Masood Azhar's nephews, the Kulgam civilian killings and Babri Masjid demolition. Masood Azhar is the chief of JeM.
"By the time, you will watch this video, I will be enjoying in heaven. Be it the sniper attacks, targetted killings, or IED explosions, we have given nightmares to Indian forces and will continue to do so," Adil said.
