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No Militant Hand in Second Tourist Bus Blast in Kashmir

By Fayaz Wani

Srnagar, Aug 5:

Three members of a four-member family from the Indian state of Bihar were killed in the mysterious bus blast last Monday.

Last Monday afternoon, there was an explosion inside a tourist bus from the Indian state of Bihar bearing Nunber JK14A/1536 near Nambal Chursoo, Awantipora in South Kashmir. Two teenage boys namely Manu Kumar, 14, and Bunty Kumar were killed on the spot in the blast while their father, Dr Ramjee Gupta and mother Manjoo Devi along with four other tourists were injured. A few days back the mother of the dead boys succumbed to her injuries in a hospital in the summer capital Srinagar.

Initially police said the incident was the result of mishap but after the driver of the vehicle claimed the blast took place inside the bus, police launched an investigation to ascertain the cause and nature of the blast.

Forensic experts from the Indian capital city visited the Valley to assist local police in ascertaining the cause of the blast. A team of sleuths from India's premier intelligence agency, IB, also visited the blast site and took samples. The IB sleuths, the forensic experts from Delhi and the local police investigators working collectively to solve the mystery.

A week after the blast, Indian police today gave a clean chit to militants.

A top police officer of South Kashmir, Sardar Khan, told this correspondent the investigators found that the blast was not caused by any explosive device but by the bursting of the fire extinguisher fitted in the vehicle. "The fire extinguisher in the tourist bus leaked and it caused the blast and left the two tourists dead on the spot and six others injured. Of the six injured, one succumbed in the hospital", he said.

"The incident was not related with militant violence and militants had no hand it. It was simply a mishap caused by the bursting of the fire extinguisher in the tourist vehicle", he added.

Fayaz Wani reports on life in Srinagar, Kashmir.