Ahead of Amarnath Yatra, Jammu & Kashmir police warn vehicle users of sticky bombs
For the first time in the Union Territory, fifteen small magnetic IEDs, also known as sticky bombs, were seized by police in Samba district’s Ramban sector in February 2021.
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Tight security arrangements at a base camp of the Amarnath Yatra 2022, in Jammu, Friday. (PTI)With magnetic IEDs emerging as a new threat ahead of the Amarnath pilgrimage, the Jammu and Kashmir police are advising people across the Union Territory to thoroughly check their vehicles for any foreign object before starting them.
At the Kishtwar bus stand on Friday, senior superintendent of police Shafqat Hussain and other senior police officers were seen advising drivers to frequently check vehicles before and after passengers board them. Apart from checking any suspicious object sticking to the chassis of their vehicles, they should also keep note of the passengers and their luggage so that they are able to identify them when needed, as people tend to disown their luggage whenever anything illegal is found in it.
Pointing out that many drivers had in the past landed in trouble following the seizure of narcotics or any explosive-like substance, the SSP said that if they noticed anything suspicious, they should immediately inform the police or Kishtwar PCR on 9906154100.
Early last month, the police had found a packet of three sticky bombs contained in plastic lunch boxes from near the international border in Kantiwala-Dayaran village of Kanachak, nearly 30 km from Jammu city. Dropped by a drone from Pakistan, these explosive devices were fitted with a magnet and a timer, sources said.
In Kathua district’s Hariyachak area, the police on May 31 shot down a drone that had come from across the international border with Pakistan. The drone, with made-in-North Korea markings, was found carrying a payload of seven magnetic IEDs, also called sticky bombs, and as many grenades used in under-barrel grenade launchers.
Sticky bombs were first seized by the police in the Jammu division in February 2021, when they found 15 small magnetic IEDs and six pistols in Samba district’s Ramgarh sector. Since then, they have been seizing such IEDs at frequent intervals. Instead of having a remote-controlled trigger, these IEDs are fitted with a timer, sources said.
The police early last month arrested three people in connection with an explosion caused by a sticky bomb in Udhampur that killed one person and injured 16 others on March 9. They were identified as Mohammad Ramzan Sohil of Halla Bohar Dhar in Ramban district and Khurshed Ahmed and Nisar Ahmed Khan, both from Doda district. The police had seized two sticky bombs from them. They said Sohil had confessed to placing a sticky bomb in Udhampur’s Slathia Chowk on the directions of his Pakistani handler Mohammad Amin alias Khubaib.
Even the bus fire incident near Katra last month, in which four pilgrims were killed and 20 others injured, is suspected to have been caused by a sticky bomb. Though the National Investigation Agency is yet to say anything about it, a lesser-known militant outfit, Jammu Kashmir Freedom Fighters, had claimed responsibility for the May 13 attack on the bus.
Jammu SSP Chandan Kohli said that additional forces were being deployed in Jammu so as to “totally secure” all the places where pilgrims would be lodged, besides their token and registration counters. Multi-tier-security measures involving police and other security agencies are being put in place for the smooth conduct of the Yatra, which is being held after a period of two years, he said.
“The threat of magnetic IEDs is there, but we are ready to face the challenge,’’ he said, adding the general public was being advised not to leave their vehicles at public places unattended. Moreover, they shall check their vehicles before starting them so as to rule out the possibility of attachment of any suspicious object with their chassis, he said.
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