An explosion destroyed a car on the
Jammu-Srinagar highway in Jammu and Kashmir's Banihal district on Saturday,
sparking panic and slightly damaging one of the CRPF vehicles moving as part of a convoy,
authorities said.The police said the explosion occurred inside a private car at
Tethar area of the highway near Bannihal town around 10.30 a.m., destroying the vehicle."The
explosion appears to have been caused by a gas cylinder inside the car but this
is based on preliminary examination of the car's wreckage," a police officer said.The Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) said the blast took place when a CRPF convoy was on the
move on the highway. "The car caught fire and slight damage was caused to the rear of one of the
CRPF vehicles. No injuries were caused to CRPF personnel. The incident is being
investigated," the CRPF said in a statement. Police said that the car driver, the lone
occupant, had escaped. Officials said a hunt had been launched to arrest
him.Police confirmed there was no loss of life in the incident.On February 14, a suicide bomber devastated a
CRPF vehicle at Pulwama, killing 40 troopers. The attack was claimed by the
Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist
group.Authorities had then decided not to allow any civilian vehicular
movement on the highway when convoys of the Army and security forces move on
it.It wasn't clear how the car came on
to the highway when the CRPF convoy was on the move on Saturday.