CRPF DIG, driver killed in landslide in J&K

The highway was closed for traffic since Thursday evening following heavy snowfall in Jawahar Tunnel and adjoining areas and multiple landslides between Ramban and Ramsu.

The road was cleared of the debris late in the afternoon and some vehicles were allowed to pass on priority, the officials said.

While the vehicles carrying the other two DIGs and their escorts passed through the area, Kumar’s vehicle was hit by a boulder and fell into a gorge.

Kumar and his driver died on the spot and his bodyguard was seriously injured. Senior civil and police officers rushed to the spot to supervise rescue work and the injured was shifted to Military Command Hospital, Udhampur.

DIG Singh was a 1992-batch officer of the CRPF cadre. He had also served in the elite jungle warfare unit of the force — the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA).

Meanwhile, nearly 5,000 vehicles were stranded along the Jammu-Srinagar highway as the road was closed for traffic following heavy rain and snowfall. Sources said there was around 3-4 feet of snow at Jawahar Tunnel and Trikuta Hills, which houses Vaishno Devi shrine near Katra, witnessed heavy snowfall.