Bus driver killed in Pulwama attack was covering for colleague, reveals book

The driver of the ill-fated bus blown up by a suicide bomber in Pulwama was not on the roster that day, he was merely substituting for a colleague, reveals IPS officer Danesh Rana's book.

Jaimal Singh, the driver of the ill-fated bus that was blown up by a suicide bomber in Pulwama on February 14, 2019, wasn't even supposed to drive that day and was merely substituting for another colleague, says a new book.

IPS officer Danesh Rana, who is currently an additional director general of police in Jammu and Kashmir, has come out with a definitive account of the Pulwama attack titled "As Far as the Saffron Fields" piecing together the conspiracy behind the strike that snuffed out the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.

Based upon personal interviews with the protagonists, police charge sheets and other evidence, Rana breaks down the modern face of militancy in Kashmir.

Recalling the sequence of events on February 14, 2019, he writes how the CRPF personnel travelling in the convoy started to come in well before the reporting time, before the break of dawn.

"After checking the seating arrangements, the personnel boarded the buses one by one. They carried some food packets, fruits and biscuits, and rested their mineral-water bottles by their sides. The winter chill smothered their faces, hands and ears. Many lowered their windows, while others sat with their hands clasped together inside their jackets to keep warm," he writes.

Head Constable Jaimal Singh was among the last to reach along with the other drivers, according to norm.

Drivers are always the last to report; they are allowed an extra half an hour of sleep since they have to undertake a gruelling journey.