Panic spread in Ramban on the strategic Jammu–Srinagar highway on Friday afternoon when an improvised explosive device (IED) was found planted in a minibus. The vehicle was carrying passengers from Ramban to Batote.
The bomb disposal squad was immediately rushed to the spot to defuse and destroy the IED. Superintendent of Police Mohita Sharma, Army and CRPF teams also reached the spot.
Police during checking of the mini-bus at Nashri detected an unclaimed polythene bag containing the IED. The bus was stopped at a check post on the highway for routine checking.
The bus was immediately emptied and was taken to an isolated place near the highway and the area was cordoned, the police said.
The SP has urged bus and truck drivers to check the undercarriage of their vehicles before starting their journey as a safety measure against sticky bombs that have become a reality now.
Pakistan backed terrorists have in the past few months planted IEDs in buses in Udhampur and Katra. Four pilgrims were charred to death and about a dozen were injured when an IED exploded recently in a bus.
In another incident, an IED exploded in a parked bus in Udhampur and an explosive device was found planted in another bus. A sticky bomb exploded few months back in a vegetable market where one person was killed and several others were injured.
A Pakistan based terrorist was reportedly behind planting of IEDs and sticky bombs in buses in Udhampur, Katra and Ramban areas. Pakistani drones among other weapons have been dropping consignments of sticky bombs in border areas of Jammu in the recent past.
Meanwhile, Army search parties reportedly resorted to speculative firing in a thickly wooded forest at Nar in Poonch district where suspected movement of terrorists was noticed.