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| Slain Lt Col braved terror threats in Kashmir | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | June 18
Lt Col Ajay Verma was shot dead by terrorists in the Kishtwar area of Jammu while inspecting a Border Road Organisation (BRO) project near the Line of Control.
His family is now struggling to come to terms with their loss and is questioning the lack of security on the government's part, despite several threats.
BRO personnel working in remote areas of Kishtwar are soft targets for terrorists.
His family members allege that the Lt Col received constant threats by terrorist outfits to stop the project, as motorable roads would have hampered their infiltration attempts.
Terrorists also demanded money in lieu of letting the project go on.
"Terrorists used to call and ask for their demands to be met with or threaten that there would be harsh consequences. They gave us a time limit in which they wanted money to be given to them. There was a lot of tension in the month of February," says Lt Col Verma's wife, Nitu Verma.
In February, Lt Col Verma had written to police officials in Kishtwar and to the district administration about the threats that the BRO had been receiving.
However, the family informs that the threats were ignored.
"There were many threats, and my husband had written to the officials for providing protection," says Nitu.The security forces are quiet on this issue, but they agree that BRO working in remote terrorist-infested areas are soft targets.
"The BRO has been instrumental in socio-economic devilment they have been working relentlessly, under extreme hardships. They have been regarded as soft targets for terrorists, " says Ministry of Defence Spokesperson, SD Goswami.
And while a Laskar-e-Toiba outfit has now claimed responsibility for the act, police sources say investigations are still on. But for now work on the construction site has been put on hold. |
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