Terrorists would have been killed, if they were carrying beef: Thackeray on Amarnath attack

Taking a dig at the recent episodes of lynching in the name of cow protection across the nation, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray hit out at the Centre over the recent terror attack on the Amarnath pilgrims and said none of the terrorists would have been left alive, had they been carrying beef.

"Had there been beef in the bags of the terrorist, then none of them would have been left alive. Now where are these cow vigilantes?" Thackeray said.

Thackeray said that the attack on the pilgrims is a terrible incident and such attacks on the the shrines of Hindu is only possible in India.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Dr. Jitendra Singh today urged various political parties to not politicise the recent terror attack on the Amarnath pilgrims.

"This is the situation where all the political parties have to rise above the political lines regardless of political affiliations, ideology, beliefs because this is an assault on Kashmir's composite culture. This Yatra itself is a symbol of Kashmir's composite culture," said Singh after meeting the injured.

Earlier in the day, Singh and Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir met the injured at SKIMS Hospital here.

The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet under the leadership of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti granted ex-gratia of Rs. 6 lakh in favour of the next of kin killed in the Amarnath terror attack.

Apart from this, Rs. 2 lakh will be given to the grievously injured and Rs. 1 lakh to the one who received minor injury.

The Cabinet also sanctioned an award of Rs. 3 lakh in favour of the driver of the bus for his alertness and courage during the incident.

The Cabinet also instructed the Finance Department to provide necessary additional funds for meeting the ex-gratia on immediate basis for release.

Separately, Governor, N.N. Vohra, Chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board has announced relief of Rs. 5 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the incident, Rs. 1.5 lakh with grievous injuries and Rs. 75,000 minor injuries pilgrims.

The Governor also announced a special reward of Rs. 2 lakh to the driver of the bus.

Meanwhile, the mortal remains of the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims, who lost their lives in the attack, were brought to Surat, Gujarat.

Seven people lost their lives and 15 others were injured yesterday when a group of terrorists attacked a bus in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag.

The incident occurred at around 8.20 p.m. yesterday between Baltal and Mir Bazar. Reportedly, the bus was neither a part of a convoy nor registered with the shrine board.

The 90th and 40th battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed at the spot to prevent further untoward incidents.

People all across the country are condemning the incident, with some even staging protests against Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee have also strongly condemned the incident.

J-K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti summoned an emergency meeting of her cabinet to review the security situation across the state.

Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Range) Muneer Khan has said that the attack on Amaranth Yatra pilgrims was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Meanwhile, President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have condemned the attack in the strongest terms.

The Delhi Police has also issued a high security across the national capital on Tuesday.

-ANI