Aadhaar, ID Cards, Leave Applications Help Identify 40 Dead CRPF Personnel in Pulwama Attack
Team Udayavani, Feb 16, 2019, 3:35 AM IST
New Delhi: Aadhaar cards, ID cards, leave applications and certain other articles were the only things left of most of the 40 CRPF personnel killed in the Pulwama terror attack that helped their colleagues identify them, officials said on Friday.
Five CRPF personnel were also injured in Thursday’s attack, one of the deadliest in Jammu and Kashmir in three decades, when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district.
Officials said as the bodies of the troops were badly mutilated and charred due on the impact of the RDX-triggered blast, it became very difficult to ascertain their identities.
Most of the slain jawans were either identified by their Aadhaar cards, force IDs, PAN cards or leave applications kept in their pockets and bags.
Some of them were identified by their colleagues by the watches or wallets they had on, a senior official said.
A good number of men, another official said, escaped death by sheer luck as they aborted their journey last moment.
The officials at the Srinagar and Jammu bases of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) undertook the daunting task of making hundreds of calls to the families of the jawans who were part of the convoy to establish that none was missing and the identities of the dead were correct.
One jawan was found to be in Delhi while another had aborted the journey last moment due to some urgent work in Jammu, the second official said.
As the bodies were badly mutilated, they said, it took a long time for the doctors and the force brass in Srinagar to declare the number of casualties.
The CRPF headquarters in Delhi released a list of the 40 killed personnel only late Friday evening after their identities were firmly established with the help of forensic profiling and matching them with their belongings that were recovered from the blast spot, they said.
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
Why crime rate against Dalits increasing in MP: Cong jabs PM Modi
Indian embassy urges caution for non-essential travel to UAE amid historic flooding
PM Modi accuses previous governments of deceiving SC, ST, OBCs in the guise of social justice at Amroha rally
Nadda says Rahul Gandhi believes in dynastic rule
Sanjay Singh warns of conspiracy against Kejriwal, fears for his safety in jail
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
PHF Leasing Limited raises $10 Mn through a mix of equity and debt
Why crime rate against Dalits increasing in MP: Cong jabs PM Modi
Indian embassy urges caution for non-essential travel to UAE amid historic flooding
Kullur: Pedestrian killed in road accident
PM Modi accuses previous governments of deceiving SC, ST, OBCs in the guise of social justice at Amroha rally