No flashbulb, second bus is all hush-hush

When the second Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus rolls out tomorrow, there will be no television cameras and fanfare. The venue and the time of dep...

When the second Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus rolls out tomorrow, there will be no television cameras and fanfare. The venue and the time of departure have been kept under wraps and the whereabouts of the passengers, lodged in a government guest house situated in a high security zone in the city, is a secret.

Twenty-eight passengers from Kashmir will be joined by nine from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir who arrived in Srinagar on the first bus from Muzaffarabad. The visa for five of them has expired and four have asked for early departure citing domestic engagements. Police officials responsible for the security of the passengers say a sulking couple dropped out after their daughter was denied travel permit.

‘‘The bus would leave early morning in the same kind of security that was in place for the first bus. The security along the road is firm and we’re taking no chances. We’re keeping details about the passenger location, departure of bus and venue confidential,’’ said DIG Kashmir J-K Police, H K Lohia.

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He said around 12 passengers who took the inaugural bus from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad would return tomorrow from Muzaffarabad. ‘‘We are expecting 30 passengers from Muzaffarabad in addition to 12 passengers who want to return early to Kashmir,’’ added Lohia.

The media will get a glance of the passengers only at Uri. ‘‘Somehow the location of the safehouse used by the passengers of the first bus got leaked and we know its consequences. This time around we want it all secret. That’s why we are not even allowing media to get near passengers in Srinagar. We would let them mingle freely with passengers near Kaman Post,’’ said one official.

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