J&K announces cash reward for braveheart driver

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday announced a cash award of Rs 3 lakh for the Gujarati bus driver whose courage, presence of mind and driving skills saved many precious lives during Monday night's terror attack on a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims.

A police spokesman said the bus carried 61 passengers, all of them Amarnath pilgrims except the driver Sheikh Salim.

Salim has been bringing pilgrims for the Amarnath Yatra to the Valley for several years.

Seven pilgrims were killed and 19 others injured on Monday in Anantnag district when militants fired at a bus carrying over 60 pilgrims in Khanabal area on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. - IANS