February 14, 2021, marks two years of the Pulwama terror attack when 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) lost their lives in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama after a suicide bomber rammed an IED-laden truck into a CRPF convoy.
The attack took place when a convoy of 78 busses with 2,500 CRPF personnel was heading to Srinagar from Jammu.
The attack further escalated tensions between India and Pakistan, which culminated in the Indian Air Force carrying out surgical strikes along the Line of Control.
Timeline of events:
February 14, 2019: An IED explosion occurred near Pulwama’s Awantipora at 3:15 pm. 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives, while many others were injured.
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February 15, 2019: Ministry of External Affairs accused Pakistan for being behind the attack. Pakistan denied India’s allegations.
February 19, 2019: India denied visas for Pakistani shooters who were to take part in the ISSF Shooting World Cup. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that the Pakistani forces are ready to retaliate to any military action.
February 26, 2019: The Indian Air Force carried out surgical strikes across the border targeting Jaish-e-Mohammad camps in Pakistan.
In 2020, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet in a special court in Jammu against 19 people including Masood Azhar, the chief of banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, for planning the terror attack.
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The 13,500-page chargesheet names Masood Azhar, his brothers -- Abdul Rauf and Ammar Alvi -- and his nephew Mohammed Umer Farooq, who had infiltrated into India in 2018 and was subsequently killed in one of the encounters in South Kashmir.
The chargesheet states that suicide bomber Adil Ahmed Dar was driving a vehicle laden with 200 kg of explosives. The explosive-laden vehicle was rammed into a bus carrying CRPF personnel at Lethpora in Pulwama district of South Kashmir on February 14, 2019.
