The death toll in yesterday’s grenade attack on a bus in Jammu rose to two on Friday when a resident of Kashmir succumbed to injuries.

The IGP Jammu, MK Sinha, said that Muhammad Riyaz, a resident of Anantnag, succumbed to injuries he suffered when the grenade exploded.

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A 17-year-old youth, Shariq, was killed on Thursday when a Hizbul Mujahedeen terrorist tossed the grenade at the bus in the crowded general bus stand in the heart of Jammu. Thirty-two passengers were injured in the blast.

In a swift action the police arrested within four hours a Kashmiri HM operative Yaseer Javed Bhat, a resident of Pulwama, who was trying to escape back into the Valley after throwing the grenade.

CCTV clips were flashed to all police stations of Jammu and the terrorist was arrested at the Ban toll post in Nagrota on the Jammu-Srinagar highway while he was returning to Kashmir.

During sustained interrogation, he told the police that he was tasked to throw the grenade by the Kulgam HM commander, Umar, and he reached Jammu early on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, Governor Satya Pal Malik said that militancy in Jammu-Kashmir gains strength as the mainstream political parties are supporting the separatists and the banned Jamaat-e-Islami.

Malik, who had last evening reviewed the security situation in the state, remarked that the political parties which are coming out in support of banned organisations are making their position clear and are siding with separatists.

He said that any party or person supporting separatists is anti-national and is playing into the hands of terrorists and Pakistan.

The Governor observed that the war against terrorism and militancy is not going to stop at any cost and this is “a battle that we will win and government will ensure that militancy is eradicated from the State”.

He appealed the people in the state to maintain peace, harmony and brotherhood. He observed that the people of the state are known since times immemorial for upholding the values of mutual brotherhood and communal harmony.

Malik convened a high-level meeting at the Raj Bhavan and reviewed the law and order situation in the State in the aftermath of a grenade attack at Jammu Bus Stand.

The meeting was attended by K. Vijay Kumar, Advisor to Governor; B V R Subramanyam Chief Secretary; Shaleen Kabra Principal Secretary Home; Dilbagh Singh Director General of Police; B. Srinivas, ADGP CID; Muneer Khan, ADGP Law and Order; Sanjeev Verma, Divisional Commissioner Jammu and M.K. Sinha, IGP Jammu.

The Governor lauded Tejinder Singh SSP Jammu, Amrit Pal Singh, SP North and their colleagues for swift action in apprehending the culprit.

The Governor described the grenade attack as an act of terrorism and called it a reaction of anti-national and terrorist elements in the State who are fast losing their grip.

The Governor observed that the Government has come down hard on separatists since the Pulwama terrorist attack and has withdrawn security for the Hurriyat and 170 persons, banned Jamaat-e-Islami in J-K and has arrested all its leaders for engaging in unlawful activities.