Four months after the escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan in light of the Pahalgam terror attack, debris believed to be from a missile has been found in Srinagar’s Dal Lake. Security officials say they believe the suspected missile was fired from the Pakistani side on May 10.
The debris was found during a cleaning drive of the lake on Sunday. Sources say the debris has been handed over to the Air Force for further investigation.
“It was found during a usual cleaning operation at the Dal Lake,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express. “It is likely a missile. The make is not yet clear, but we suspect it was fired by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor in May. We had received some reports that day of a missile-like object hitting the water body.”
Sources say the target could have been a military installation in Srinagar. The Dal Lake is less than a kilometre from the Army’s 15 Corps headquarters at Badami Bagh in Srinagar.
On May 10, when Pakistan fired missiles towards India, a suspected missile was reported to have fallen in the lake, but the searches yielded nothing at the time.
A senior Army official reiterated that the debris has been handed over to the Air Force. “It could be from the Pakistani missile, Fateh, but the exact make would be known only after the forensic examination,” the official said.
The routine clean-up operation was being carried out by the Lake Conservation and Management Authority, during which workers found the debris and informed the police, officials said.
