Published 09:37 IST, February 14th 2021
Netizens remember sacrifice of CRPF martyrs on 2nd anniversary of Pulwama terror attack
As Feb 14, 2021 marks 2 years of Pulwama attack, which killed 40 Indian soldiers, netizens paid homage to the CRPF jawans who laid their lives for the nation
As February 14, 2021, marks 2 years of the Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 valiant Indian soldiers were killed after a suicide bomber rammed an IED-laden vehicle into the security convoy carrying them, netizens took to Twitter to pay homage to the CRPF jawans who laid their lives for the nation. International sand artist and Padma Shri Awardee Sudarshan Pattnaik on Sunday paid tribute to the soldiers with his sand art. As of now, "#PulwamaAttack" is currently trending on Twitter with nearly 25,000 tweets.
2nd Anniversary of Pulwama Attack: Netizens remember sacrifice of soldiers
Pulwama Terror Attack: A black day for India
Two years ago on February 14, 2019, 40 Indian soldiers were martyred in one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. After the deadly attack, a Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) had claimed responsibility for this terror attack. A 22-year-old suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the bus. The convoy had 78 buses in which around 2,500 personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar. The attack, which was reported near Awantipora at nearly 3:15 pm resulted in the death of 40 CRPF jawans, while many others were left injured.
READ | NIA Files Chargesheet Against Ex-J And K Cop Who Joined Hizbul Ranks For Attack On CRPF Convoy
After this attack, India had also withdrawn the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan and the whole international community had expressed its strong support to India in the wake of the terror attack. The memorial having names of all 40 jawans killed in the attack was inaugurated on February 14, 2020, at CRPF's Training Centre at Lethpora camp in Pulwama. The memorial is inscribed with the names of all the 40 troopers along with their photographs and the motto of the CRPF -- "Seva and Nishtha" (Service and Loyalty).
Earlier on Republic Day 2021, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) ASI Mohan Lal who lost his life during the Pulwama attack in 2019, was awarded the President Police Medal for Gallantry (PPMG) posthumously. Mohan Lal was awarded the medal for spotting the IED-laden car and having fired to stop the car before it rammed into a bus in the convoy that killed the suicide bomber and 40 CRPF personnel on February 14, 2019.
Balakot Airstrike
Following this attack, India after few days carried out an airstrike on JeM's Balakot terror training camp in Pakistan. Earlier on February 26, 12 Mirage 2000 jets of the Indian Air Force crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and dropped bombs into Balakot, Pakistan. India claimed that it attacked a JeM training camp and killed a large number of terrorists, reported to be between 300 and 350. Meanwhile, Pakistan claimed that they quickly scrambled jets to intercept the IAF jets, who dropped their payloads to quickly return over the Line of Control.
Later on February 27, the Pakistan Air Force conducted an airstrike into Jammu and Kashmir in retaliation for the Indian airstrike the day before. Both Pakistan and India agreed that no damage was caused by Pakistan's airstrike. However, in an ensuing dogfight between Indian and Pakistani jets, an Indian MiG-21 was shot down over Pakistan and its pilot - Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured. Pakistan later released Varthaman on March 1.
Updated 10:40 IST, February 14th 2021