New Delhi, May 25: CRPF chief J K Sinha today admitted "human error" in non-detection of the improvised explosive device (IED) which exploded on Sunday on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway claiming the lives of 29 BSF personnel and their family members and said an inquiry was on to ascertain the reasons for such an error. Emerging from a meeting with Union Home Secretary Anil Baijal, Sinha said, "Human error is established. But why did it happen is being probed. After all, we have a drill laid down for the Road Opening Party (ROP)", which clears the highway for traffic on a daily basis.
He said he had a meeting to hold in-depth discussion on the situation with the secretary. CRPF is entrusted with a duty of carrying out searches on the Jammu-Srinagar highway each day, before traffic, including armed forces' vehicular movement, is allowed.
Sinha said on the same day, the ROP of the CRPF had detected an IED at Bijbehara area of south Kashmir on the highway.
To a question about the stage of inquiry, Sinha said it was also being probed whether the explosive used in the blast was of a new kind which could evade detection.
Earlier, all chiefs of para-military forces and other Central agencies including director Intelligence Bureau K P Singh, CBI director U S Misra, CISF DG K M Singh and BSF chief Ajai Raj Sharma met Union Home minister Shivraj Patil to brief him on the current situation.
Bureau Report