After Setback, A Bounce-Back: Days After Pulwama Attack, CRPF Back With Convoy On Same Road, Undeterred 

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), undeterred by the Pulwama terror attack on 14 February, carried more soldiers from the Jammu-Kashmir highway where the ghastly attack took place - this time personnel going on leave from Srinagar to Jammu, reports Hindustan Times.

According to the report, at least 25 buses carrying 500 soldiers from the valley reached Jammu via the same route on Saturday (16 February). Another 32 CRPF buses carrying 350 soldiers, also going on leave, reached Jammu using the same route on Sunday (17 February) , a senior CRPF official was cited in the report as saying.

“There is a substantial turnaround of soldiers. Airlifting is not an option. Importantly, we have to keep the highways and roads open,” a second senior CRPF officer was quoted in the report as saying. “The attack was a setback, but that cannot bog us down,” he said.

The initial investigation in the Pulwama attack reportedly indicated that the terrorist, Adil Ahmed Dar, drove up to the convoy from a feeder road linking the highway to nearby Pulwama. In light of this, the slip and feeder roads connecting to the highway were blocked during the movement of the convoys.

Furthermore, a number of bulletproof, gun-mounted escorts also accompanied the convoys.

“We are working on revising the security detail of convoys. It will have more elements for quick reaction,” the second officer was quoted in the report as saying.