Devotees of the Shiv Khori temple have not been affected by the terror attack on a pilgrim bus that claimed nine lives on Sunday night, demonstrating their faith in both the god and the security authorities.
According to PTI reports, the devotees were seen making a brief halt near the incident site on Tuesday, near Teryath village in Poni area, and raised slogans like ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Bharatiya Sena Zindabad’. and prayed for the deceased. .
Parmeela Bajaj, part of a 20-member group from Maharashtra, told PTI: “We came to know about the terror attack through the news, but we decided to continue our journey to have the darshan of Mata Rani (Vaishno Devi).”
The group stopped at the site of Sunday’s terrorist attack to take a look at the spot where the attacked bus still lay in a gorge. It was when they were heading to the Shiv Khori temple after praying at the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.
“What happened was terrible. Among the dead was a two-year-old boy and his mother. We pray for the souls of the deceased,” Bajaj said.
The terrorists opened fire on the 53-seater bus heading to Katra from the Shiv Khori temple, causing it to veer off the road and fall into a deep gorge. 41 people were also injured in the attack.
The bus was carrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi, PTI reported.
Mangla Mahajan from Maharashtra said, “Fear is natural but we have full faith in our security forces who are defending our country without fearing for their lives. We have faith in our Lord.”
“We have full confidence that our forces will track down the terrorists and punish them. When it comes to our army, we are not afraid,” Mahajan said.
Nitin, another devotee, said he had no doubts about their safety as they left their home state for Jammu and Kashmir.
He said, “We held darshan at Vaishno Devi and now we are heading to Shiv Khori. The attackers will be punished as our army is carrying out a massive hunt for them.” Nitin further added, “We pray that good sense prevails in the enemy camp, otherwise our forces will annihilate them.”
PTI reported that according to authorities, the renowned Vaishno Devi shrine, which is situated in the Trikuta hills, more than 80 miles from the Shiv Khori temple, was full.
“There are adequate security arrangements at the Vaishno Devi and Shiv Khori temples. A fresh security check of both the places has been carried out in the wake of the terror attack,” an official said.
The official said more security personnel have been deployed along the main route leading to Shiv Khori from both Reasi and Rajouri sides.