On Friday (February 14, 2020), the first anniversary of Pulwama terror attack, an indebted nation is paying homage to 40 brave Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans, who lost their lives in one of the worst terror attacks in three decades in the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir on this day – February 14, 2019, for their valour and supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.
A host of events will be organised throughout the day to pay homage to the CRPF bravehearts across the country. To mark the occasion, the CRPF will dedicate a memorial to 40 brave CRPF personnel who were killed in the Pulwama terror attack in February last year at the Lethpora camp.
The memorial has been set up inside a CRPF camp adjacent to the place where Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist Adeel Ahmed Dar, driving an explosive-laden car, blew himself next to a convoy of security forces killing the 40 personnel.
According to Additional Director General of CRPF, Zulfiqar Hasan, the names of all the 40 personnel along with their pictures will be part of the memorial along with the moto of the CRPF – ‘Seva and Nishtha’ (Service and Loyalty).
“It definitely was an unfortunate incident and we have learnt our lessons now. We were always extra alert during our movement but now an extra layer of alertness has been added to it,” Hasan said. here.
The supreme sacrifices of the 40 jawans has furthered increased “our resolve to eliminate enemies of the country”.
“We fight with extra vigour during an encounter with terrorists and that is why we were able to eliminate the entire Jaish-e-Mohammed commanders immediately after the attack on our jawans,” he said.
While he refused to spell out the precaution that is taken during troop movements in the aftermath of the February 14 attack, officials in the security establishment said the movement of troops is now done in coordination with other security forces and the army.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had also allowed the CRPF to carry its troops by air to avoid the possibility of any such attack.
The Jammu and Kashmir government had imposed a ban on plying of private vehicles on two days in a week to facilitate the movement of troops. The order was later rescinded after the situation became normal. The process of bullet-proofing of vehicles carrying the troops was expedited and more and more bunker-type vehicles were seen on roads carrying the jawans.
Almost all the conspirators behind the dastardly attack have since been killed with the last one being Qari Yasir, the self-styled chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group, who was killed last month.