Families of Pulwama attack martyrs seek answers from government

Families of at least 20 CRPF soldiers who were martyred in the 2019 suicide bombing attack — which occurred in J&K’s Pulwama — gathered at Congress’ 24 Akbar Road.

The attack had taken place after a terrorist belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group rammed his vehicle into the CRPF convoy that was moving on the highway on the fateful day. The attack left 40 soldiers martyred, leaving India-Pakistan on the brink of war.

Families of martyrs’ hailing from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan were present, said Congress leader Col Rohit Chaudhry, who is also national chairman of the party’s ex-servicemen department.

He said today’s ‘Pulwama Shaheed Samman Programme’ was part of the series started by the party to honour martyrs. He said that although the loss is irreparable and can never be compensated, the programme was called to honour the sacrifices.

“This is to carry forward the thinking of the Congress and Rahul Gandhi. He provided financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to each family,” he said.

He added that Congress will provide financial, social, familial and ideological support to the martyrs’ families. During the programme, the families of martyrs said they await justice even today, while expressing resentment and anger towards the neglectful attitude of the government.

“The Pulwama attack does not seem to be an accident but an internal conspiracy, for which no responsibility or accountability has been fixed yet,” the families told the Congress leaders at the gathering.

They raised questions over the attack. “Why did the Pulwama attack happen? Why were the five planes not given? Where did more than 300 kg RDX come from? Why did the Intelligence failure happen, and why was no action taken against those responsible?” they told Congress leaders.

India