Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan has condemned the terrorist attack on a bus carrying pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district.
Taking to Instagram, the 'Jab We Met' star wrote, "Heartbroken. The attack in Reasi is a reminder, that humanity suffers when violence prevails."
Earlier actors Alia Bhatt and Priyanka Chopra also reacted to the shocking incident.
"This is heartbreaking. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. Violence against the innocent shakes the very core of our family," Alia posted on social media.
Priyanka described the incident as "heinous."
"Devastated. This heinous attack on innocent pilgrims is horrific. Why civilians and children?! It's so hard to comprehend the hatred we're around the world," she wrote.
Meanwhile, Reasi Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Mahajan confirmed on Sunday night that at least 10 people were killed in the terror attack and 33 others were injured.
According to officials, the bus, en route from the Shiv Khori shrine to Katra, was targetted by terrorists at around 06.10 pm when it reached Pouni area of Reasi district bordering Rajouri district.
"Terrorists opened fire, causing the driver to lose control and the bus to plunge into a gorge," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Reasi, Mohita Sharma told ANI.
The SSP further said that the rescue operations are complete and the injured have been taken to Naraina and Reasi District hospitals.
Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha condemned the attack and assured action against those behind it. "I strongly condemn the cowardly terror attack on a bus in Reasi. My condolences to the family members of the martyred civilians. Our security forces and JKP have launched a joint operation to hunt down the terrorists," the LG said in a post on X."
PM Narendra Modi Ji took stock of the situation and has asked me to constantly monitor the situation. All those behind this heinous act will be punished soon. PM has also directed that all the injured are provided the best possible medical care & assistance," the J-K LG added.
Ranjit Singh, manager of the bus booking company whose bus came under attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi on Sunday evening, recounted the attack horror and said that the driver sacrificed himself for the passengers.
In a conversation with ANI, Singh said, "The bus used to ply from Katra to Shiv Khori daily, booking occurred daily. But we had never thought that this could happen to our vehicle. We used to hear of things like this in Kashmir but this area was safe. We never thought that this could happen to us.
As soon as the bus left in the morning, we received a call at 5 o'clock that there had been firing on our vehicle... When we did a little investigation, we came to know that it was an attack by militants...Passengers told us that the militant got into the bus and told the driver to make the passengers deboard the bus."
"The driver sensed that the man was a militant. He refused to make the passengers deboard, he sped up the bus. As soon as he sped up the bus, the militant fired a bullet. The bus lost balance but the driver kept driving. When the driver didn't stop, he (militant) shot him in the head and killed him...Then the conductor took hold of the steering.
As soon as he did that, the militant shot 3-4 bullets at the conductor too. He killed them both. The bus lost balance and fell into a gorge", he added.
The manager further stated that had the driver not shown his presence of mind, no passenger would have survived."Had the driver not shown a presence of mind, no passenger would have survived. They might have even set the bus on fire. The driver did well and sacrificed himself for the 40 passengers", he said.
