Innocents shouldn't be held during probe: Farooq on Poonch attack

SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah on Saturday urged that "innocent people" should not be arrested during the investigation of the Poonch terror attack in which five soldiers were killed.

He was speaking to the reporters after offering Namaz at the Hazratbal Mosque in Srinagar on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr.

"Now that the investigation has started regarding the Poonch terror attack, innocents should not be arrested. It should be taken special care of. Many innocents are arrested and then tortured. This is the wrong method," Farooq Abdullah said. "I don't want the innocent people to suffer," he stressed.

On April 20, an Army vehicle passing Bhimber Gali and Poonch in the Rajouri sector was fired upon by unidentified terrorists, through grenades, which lead to the death of five soldiers.

Five personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles deployed for counterterrorism operations lost their lives in the incident, the Army said.

The mortal remains of all five soldiers were brought to their native village on Saturday. As per sources, the terrorists are suspected to have been from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Following the attack, the army launched a massive operation on Friday to hunt down a group of around six to seven terrorists, which it said was behind the ambush.