NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid rich tributes to the 40 CRPF troopers martyred in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama last year, saying that "India will never forget their martyrdom".
"Tributes to the brave martyrs who lost their lives in the gruesome Pulwama attack last year. They were exceptional individuals who devoted their lives to serving and protecting our nation. India will never forget their martyrdom," Modi tweeted.
Paying homage to the 40 CRPF personnel, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said: "India will forever be grateful to our bravehearts, and their families, who made the supreme sacrifice for the sovereignty and integrity of our motherland".
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also took Twitter to pay tributes to the killed Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. "Remembering the fallen CRPF personnel martyred during the dastardly attack in Pulwama (Jammu and Kashmir) on this day in 2019. India will never forget their sacrifice," Singh tweeted.
A convoy of 78 buses carrying around 2,500 security personnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit at Lethpora in Pulwama district on February 14 last year, resulting in the deaths of 40 CRPF personnel and the attacker.
Following the terror attack, Indian Air Force (IAF) jets on February 26 last year bombed a JeM camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.