After Satyapal Malik, former army chief Shankar Roy Chowdhury also raised questions on the Pulwama attack
Former Indian Army Chief General (Retd) Shankar Roychowdhury has also raised questions regarding the allegations made by former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik on the Modi government regarding the Pulwama attack. He has said that the primary responsibility for the loss of life in Pulwama rests with the government headed by the Prime Minister, who is advised by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Till now, those who spoke against the government regarding the Pulwama attack have been termed as traitors and pro-Pakistan. Now once the statements of former Governor Satyapal Malik and after him the statements of former army chief, it is natural for BJP to increase uneasiness. ,
Former Indian Army chief Gen (retd) Shankar Roychowdhury said the primary responsibility for the death of CRPF jawans in the Pulwama terror attack rests with the government headed by the Prime Minister, who is advised by the National Security Advisor. Speaking to The Telegraph, Roychowdhury, the 18th Chief of the Army Staff, was reacting to the revelations of former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik in an interview with The Wire.
In an interview to The Wire, Satyapal Malik had said that the 2019 Pulwama attack, in which 40 soldiers were killed after an explosives-laden car rammed into a CRPF convoy, was the result of government incompetence and negligence. Malik had told The Wire that the CRPF had requested to travel from Jammu to Srinagar by air instead of traveling by road, but the Union Home Ministry (then headed by Rajnath Singh) did not provide the aircraft to them. BJP leader Satyapal Malik had said that the deaths could have been prevented if his request was accepted.
General Roychowdhury told The Telegraph that the primary responsibility for the loss of life in Pulwama lies with the government led by the Prime Minister, who is advised by the National Security Advisor (NSA). It was a shock. He said that NSA Ajit Doval should also get his share of the blame for the intelligence failure behind the attack.
Malik also claimed that when he told Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the failures that had led to the attack, Modi told him to “shut up”. He had told that NSA Doval had also asked him to keep quiet. Malik had said that RDX, the explosive substance used in the attack, had come from Pakistan, the fact that a car that ‘roamed’ in Kashmir for several days before the attack and went undetected was an intelligence and security failure.
Agreeing with Malik, General Roy Chowdhury told the newspaper that the convoy of 78 vehicles carrying more than 2,500 personnel should not have taken the highway so close to the Pakistan border. General Roychowdhury agreed with this. According to the Telegraph, he said a CRPF convoy operating on the inter-state highway between Jammu and Srinagar was ambushed by a group of Mujahideen in Pulwama. If the soldiers had traveled by air, the loss of life could have been avoided.
General Shankar Roychowdhury said that all large vehicles and convoys plying on the National Highway are always at risk of attack. He said the area where the Pulwama terror attack took place has always been a very ‘risky area’. He told The Telegraph that the road going along Samba (31 km from Satwari airport) in Jammu is always unsafe due to infiltration, which happens through tunnels.
The general, who commanded the 16 Corps in Jammu and Kashmir between 1991 and 1992, said the more traffic you move on the interstate highway, the more you put them at risk, as the border is not far from Pakistan. General Roychowdhury also agreed with Malik’s statement that the terror attack was a result of intelligence failure.
General Roychowdhury told the Telegraph that it was a mistake the government was trying to get away with. I strongly believe that the troops should have been airlifted, which are available with the Civil Aviation Department, Air Force or BSF. He further said that failure has no claimant.
Pulwama attack happened on this day
On 14 February 2019, there was a suicide attack on a convoy of CRPF vehicles carrying Indian security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway, killing 40 Indian security personnel. The attack took place in Lethpora area near Awantipora in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan-based Islamic terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Pakistan condemned the attack and denied responsibility.
PM Modi was busy shooting that day
The day the Pulwama attack took place, PM Modi was busy shooting for an episode of Discovery’s popular show ‘Man Vs Wild’. This special episode was shot by Bear Grylls in Jim Corbett National Park, India. PM Modi and Grylls were seen walking in the woods and sitting in a rubber boat.
PM Narendra Modi reached Dehradun from Delhi on February 14 at around seven in the morning. After reaching Dehradun, he stayed there for about four hours as the flight could not take off due to bad weather. He reached Jim Corbett National Park at 11.15 am. They stayed there for three hours. He inaugurated Tiger Safari, Eco Tourism Zone and Rescue Center there.
PM Modi traveled in a motorboat from Kalagarh to visit Dhikala. After reaching Dhikala, he took a walk in the forest. PM Modi was to address a public meeting at Rudrapur at 3 pm, but the rally was postponed due to bad weather and the Pulwama attack. He gave a brief address via phone. Before this the incident of Pulwama had happened. However, PM Modi got information about the attack in Pulwama with a delay of 25 minutes. Nevertheless, he addressed the public meeting by phone.
PM Modi reached Delhi late in the evening after leaving Ramnagar at 7 pm. At the same time, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had said that ‘the news of the attack had come at 3:10. Congress also gave its reaction at 5.15 pm. But, what was Modi ji doing? I am telling the daily routine of Modi ji. He was doing boating and shooting after visiting the park for the day. Let’s shoot the film till 6.45 pm, go boating.
