More than a month after the Pulwama terror attack, an explosion occurred on Saturday near the convoy of the CRPF in which a private car was completely destroyed causing minor damage to a bus carrying jawans near the Jawahar Tunnel in the Banihal sub-division on the Jammu—Srinagar Highway.
The Police said that the explosion occurred near a bus of the 54 Battalion of CRPF. The private Santro car was completely charred and initially, it was believed that the two LPG cylinders fitted in the vehicle might have caught fire triggering the explosion.
A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was rushed to the spot to collect samples from the explosion spot and investigate into the incident from all possible angles.
Officials of the Hyundai Motors were also brought to the spot to establish the ownership of the vehicle on the basis of the chassis number. Initial investigations revealed that the car was purchased in February 2011. Members of the bomb disposal squad, however, found traces of urea after which a thorough investigation has been ordered and the NIA has also stepped in.
The driver of the car escaped unhurt and has reportedly disappeared from the spot.
The Police were making efforts to trace him. Officials said that the explosion occurred at a distance from the convoy but the bus, that was seventh in the convoy, suffered minor damage at the rear.
The Police were investigating the incident from other possible angles.
A day after the terror attack on the CRPF convoy near Pulwama, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of stopping the movement of civilian traffic during convoys of security forces would be strictly enforced but the presence of the Santro car on the route of the convoy near Banihal has rung alarm bells among the security forces and the authorities.