J&K: Soldier Injured in Shopian Blast Succumbs to Injuries, Two Others Stable

Representational image.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An army soldier who was injured in a blast at Sedow area of Shopian district in south Kashmir early morning on Thursday, 2 June, succumbed to his injuries while two others are said to be stable. The blast blast took place inside their “private hired” vehicle around 3 am on Thursday.

The deceased soldier, identified as Parveen Kumar, was shifted from 92 base hospital Srinagar to Udhampur in a critical condition where he died due to his injuries sustained in the blast. The other two are undergoing treatment.

The nature of the blast is being investigated, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar had earlier said.

"A blast took place inside a private hired vehicle at Sedow, Shopian. 03 soldiers injured & shifted to Hospital," Kumar wrote on Twitter.

The nature and the source of the blast, whether it was due to a grenade or already planted IED inside the vehicle or malfunctioning of battery, is being investigated, he said.

Army had said in a statement, “At approximately 3 am, based on specific intelligence, an operation was launched from (Sedow) COB to lay cordon and search in general area Patitohalan. While moving to the target area, at approximately a km from (Sedow), an explosion took place in the civil hired vehicle, being used by the team, resulting in injuries to three Indian Army soldiers."

The statement added, “The blast is very likely to be from either an IED or a grenade or a battery malfunctioning in the vehicle. Details are being ascertained.”

Security Situation in Kashmir

Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to chair a high-level meeting to discuss security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the second such exercise in less than a fortnight which comes at a time when terrorists have been carrying out targetted killings in the Valley.

On 18 May, terrorists had entered into a wine shop at Baramulla in North Kashmir and threw a grenade, killing one person hailing from Jammu region and injuring three others.

On 24 May, a policeman, Saifullah Qadri, was shot dead outside his residence in Srinagar while a television artiste Amreen Bhat was gunned down in Budgam two days later.

Scores of Kashmiri Pandits, who were employed under a prime minister's package in 2012, have been staging continuous protests threatening mass exodus since the killing of Rahul Bhat, who was shot dead by terrorists on 12 May in Chadoora area of Budgam district in central Kashmir.

(With inputs from PTI.)