A teenager from Haridwar district, who was killed in a grenade blast in Jammu bus stand on Thursday, had gone there a day ago to learn tailoring from his relative to support his family, family members and police said.
Inspector general of police (IGP), Jammu, tweeted about the death of 17-year-old Shariq of village Toda Kalyanpur, Ahatmal.
Haridwar superintendent of Police (rural) Navneet Singh confirmed that Shariq died in the bomb blast. “We are waiting for further communication from J&K police in this regard,” he said.
At least 30 people were injured in the grenade blast, which happened three weeks after the terror attack in Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF troopers were killed.
Shariq’s father died two years back due to illness. His five sisters, elder brother and mother were inconsolable as the news of his death was received from a distant relative in Jammu.
Shariq had gone to Jammu from Roorkee on Wednesday to learn tailoring so that he could financially support his family. The family depends on tailoring and farming on a small piece of land.
Wajid Mohammed, Toda village head, said that despite recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, Shariq’s mother had agreed to send him to her brother’s place in Jammu, so that he could learn tailoring and start earning.
“All the family members are in a state of shock since the tragic news was received. Shariq was quite reserved and wanted to learn tailoring and earn. He used to participate in community and religious activities,” said Wajid.
Expressing his condolence to the family, Roorkee legislator Pradeep Batra has assured full support from the state government.
A witness of the blast in Jammu, Rakesh Kumar said, “There was a big explosion in a bus and the impact was so powerful that the windscreens of three to four other buses were also smashed. Many people were injured but there were three to four persons, who were critically injured. There was total chaos and panic after the explosion as people ran for safety. We didn’t rush to the injured fearing a second explosion because a strange noise was coming from the bus on which the grenade was planted. We waited for some time and then went to their rescue.”
