Blast at J&K's Udhampur city bus stand; 2nd one within few hours; no casualties

A blast has been reported in a bus parked in a stand at Udhampur city of Jammu and Kashmir today morning. This is the second blast reported with a few hours, and put the security agencies in a tizzy state as they sounded a high alert, according to sources.

The backside and roof of the bus were blown away in the blast that occurred at about 5:30 am today, but no casualties were reported.

Both incidents have taken place a few days ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit starting from October 4. The minister was supposed to complete a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, starting from September 30, during which he would hold public meetings in Rajouri and Baramulla on October 1 and October 2 respectively. The visit is now rescheduled.

Prior to this one, another blast had occurred in a vacant bus parked close to a petrol pump at Domail Chowk on Wednesday night. Two individuals were injured in the incident, according to sources.

The bus in the second blast had travelled from Basantgarh in Udhampur district and was on a halt at night at the bus stand. It had to leave for Basantgarh in the morning.

Suleman Choudhary, DIG of Udhampur-Reasi range said that two or three buses have been damaged in the blast. The nature of explosives, amongst other details is under investigation and a detailed probe is required, he shared.

The police have questioned people injured in the blast. The officer shared that they can not rule out the terror angle. They have released an alert and asked people to check their vehicles for presence of suspicious items.

Furthermore, all the vehicles that left the bus stand before the blast in the morning will be stopped on checkpoints and checked thoroughly, officials said.