CRPF pays tributes to 40 personnel killed in Pulwama attack

A year after the deadly Pulwama suicide attack in which 40 paramilitary personnel were killed, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Friday paid homage to their fallen colleagues at a low key wreath-laying ceremony at Lethpora camp in south Kashmir.

A memorial has been set up in 185 Battalion of CRPF which is two kilometres away from the site where Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant Adil Ahmed Dar, driving an explosive-laden car blew himself next to a convoy of security forces killing the 40 CRPF personnel.

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The names of all the 40 personnel along with their pictures is part of the memorial along with the motto of the CRPF – ‘Seva and Nishtha’ (Service and Loyalty). Special Director General of CRPF Zulfikhar Hasan and other top security officials paid tributes to the fallen soldiers at the camp in Lethpora.

Talking to reporters Hassan said the families of the martyrs were most important for them. “We have a structured system to take care of them,” he said.

Asked to comment on assertions made by various opposition leaders as how so much of RDX reached to the spot of the incident, Hassan said, “Investigations into the attack are being carried out by the National Investigation Agency. It is proceeding in the right direction. As far as I know, they have made huge progress.”

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He said after the attack, the main militants and conspirators were eliminated by the security forces within a few months time. “Those who had provided help to the terrorists were arrested,” he added.

Days after the attack on February 14 last year, the Indian Air Force on February 26 carried out multiple aerial strikes at JeM militant camps in Pakistan’s Balakot, killing a “large number” of terrorists and destroying their infrastructure.

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Meanwhile, Umesh Gopinath Jadhav from Maharashtra, who took a 61,000 km long journey across India to meet families of the 40 CRPF men who lost their lives in the attack, was the special guest at the wreath-laying ceremony.

However, the families of the slain personnel were not invited for the wreath-laying ceremony.