An anti-hijacking squad, today, has arrested an Indian Army Jawan, at Srinagar Airport, for carrying two live grenades.
The Jawan who was identified as Bhupal Mukhia, of the 17 Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) rifles, serves near the Line Of Control in the Uri sector of Kashmir.
The explosives were found in the baggage as the soldier. He was taken to the police station in central Kashmir's Humama, further investigation.
The Jawan was arrested and has been detained, following the discovery, at the outer gate of the airport. He was to board a chartered flight to Delhi, police said.
An army source said, “We are investigating. We have sent our team to the police station. The grenade the Jawan was carrying is Grenade 90. It is mostly used for exercises.”
The Jawan initially, however, said that he was unaware of the grenades in his possession. Then, later retracted his statement and told the police, that he was carrying the grenades to Delhi, as he wanted to catch fish from the blast in the river.
On being interrogated further, the Jawan admitted that it was the involvement of junior level officers, and said he was just a messenger for the grenades.
The soldier is a resident of the village, Bhosoli Gaom in Darjeeling.
Jammu and Kashmir, DGP, S P Vaid, told the media in Srinagar, “Stringent action will be taken against him. I am heading to the airport now.”
Former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, reacting to the arrest, said on Twitter, “this case explains a wider story of the unaccounted weapons and ammo problem.”
Not some thing one would usually forget to unpack before boarding a flight. Tells a wider story of the problem of unaccounted weapons & ammo https://t.co/VsnqB7mT2z
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) April 3, 2017
Further details are awaited.
Srinagar is the most heavily guarder airports in the country with multiple points of checking.
The Soldier’s arrest comes a day, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, opened the Chenani-Nashri all-weather tunnel, near Udhampur in Jammu.
A few hours after the inauguration, a policeman was killed and around 14 security personnel were injured in a grenade attack by militants, in Nowhatta area of old Srinagar.
By Supraja
