J&K Terror Attack: Survivors stayed quiet to "Pretend they were dead" but Terrorists continued firing

Survivors of the recent JK terror attack Reasi district recalled the horrific incident while talking to the media. The survivors said the terrorists kept firing even after the bus fell into the gorge, ensuring that everyone was killed. To save their lives, the passengers stayed quiet, tricking the terrorists into thinking everyone was dead.

While talking to India Today, one of the eyewitnesses said, “They were 6–7 terrorists, their faces were covered with masks. Initially, they fired on the bus by covering it from all sides of the road. When the bus fell, they came towards it and kept firing to ensure everyone was killed.”

“We maintained silence to make them believe (that they were dead). The incident happened 30 mins after we took the bus for Vaishno Devi from Shivkhorhi (Reasi) at 6 pm. We were afraid and just wanted to get back to our homes. There were kids and women also on the bus and all got injured. Police and locals arrived to rescue us after 10 to 15 mins of this attack,” the eyewitness added.

Reports suggest that the driver was hit by a bullet, causing the bus to lose control and fall into the gorge. Another death has been reported, bringing the total death count to 10 people. Initially, 9 deaths were reported after the horrific incident that took place on Sunday evening.

Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has approved a compensation of ₹10 lakh for the families of those who lost their lives in the attack. Additionally, ₹50,000 has been sanctioned for those who were injured, as reported by PTI, citing an official statement from the spokesperson.

“A control room has been created by the district administration to provide all necessary assistance to those affected. Efforts are on to neutralise the perpetrators of the terror attack,” the spokesman said.

These terrorists are part of the same group responsible for the attacks that carried out other attacks in Rajouri and Poonch the neighbouring area of Reasi which has been a terror hotspot over the past month. As reported by India Today citing their source the terrorists were hiding in the dense vegetation and ambushed the bus on Sunday.

A massive search operation is being conducted to track down the involved terrorists. NIA ( National Investigation Agency) have reached the site accompanied by a team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) who are working to collect the evidence.

According to a Hindustan Times report, the Reasi terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir was carried out by the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT). On Sunday evening, LeT’s front TRF, claimed responsibility for the attack. This was an attempt to make it appear that the attack was carried out by local militants in Jammu and Kashmir rather than by foreign extremists based in Lahore.

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