5 killed, 35 hurt in heavy shelling in RS Pura sector
In one of the gravest provocations so far, Pakistan Rangers late on Sunday pounded several civilian areas along the International Border in RS Pura sector in which five people, including four members of a family, were killed and 35 others were injured.
Not letting up even on Eid-ul-Zuha, Pakistan chose to further escalate tension on Monday night by resorting to heavy firing in RS Pura, Kanachak sector of Akhnoor and along the line of Control (loC) in Mankote area of Poonch.
According to ground reports heavy firing from across the border started in RS Pura and Akhnoor sector after 9.00 pm. BSF jawans are returning the fire, official sources said. At least 15 border posts of BSF were being directly targeted by Pakistan Rangers, official sources said.
Earlier in the day, those who witnessed Sunday night’s “dance of death” claimed it was the gravest provocation in recent months. BSF troops also gave a befitting reply to silence Pakistani guns.
During the night-long exchange of fire which continued till 7.20 am on Sunday night, at least 15 border posts of the BSF were also targeted by Pakistan Rangers with 81 mm mortar shells and medium machine guns. One BSF jawan was also injured in the firing.
BSF Director-General DK Pathak rushed to Jammu frontier on Monday morning to brief the sector commanders before visiting the forward areas to boost the morale of the BSF jawans.
Speaking to reporters, Pathak said: “Sunday night’s incident was very unfortunate as it resulted in so many civilian casualties. We have strongly retaliated and there has been damage on their (Pakistani) side too. let’s see what happens now.” Stating that such firing from across the border was unexpected, Pathak added that the BSF would act professionally and do what was required.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah rushed to Jammu to take stock of the situation after offering Eid prayers in Srinagar. After meeting members of the bereaved families and attending the cremations in Arnia, the Chief Minister lashed out at Pakistan saying it was a crying shame that on the holy occasion of Eid, Pakistan had shelled civilian areas and killed innocent children and young people.
He termed the unprovoked firing from across the border by Pakistan Rangers as a deliberate attempt to maximise causalities. Omar said instead of sending Eid greetings this is what Pakistan had done.
He said the onus of creating an atmosphere conducive for carrying out dialogue also lies with Pakistan but they have not done so. The Chief Minister also sought assistance from the Centre in creating alternate accommodation facilities for border residents and community bunkers to prevent loss of life in the wake of increasing hostilities.
leaders belonging to different political parties, namely BJP, Panthers Party, BSP, Congress, PDP and National Conference visited the border areas to assess the situation and attend the cremations of civilians killed in the firing.
Meanwhile, villagers living under the shadow of death in Arnia sector told The Pioneer: “Mortar shells were raining over our heads last night and we faced great difficulty in shifting critically wounded people to the hospital which is just close by.” Four members of a family lost their lives in the Pakistani shelling while another villager, identified as Ram Paul succumbed to his injuries in Arnia town.
Some of the villages targeted by Pakistan are located ahead of Ditch-cum-Bund (DCB) and are generally considered safe zones as they are located more than 5 kms away from the International Border. According to villagers in Arnia, the firing was going on since late on Sunday night but it intensified only after midnight and the mortar shells starting falling around 1.00 am.
Mangal Das who survived the mortar blast in Mashan-de-Kothe told The Pioneer: “My entire family was sleeping in the verandah when the firing started. As the first shell landed behind our house I alerted my family and tried to move them to a safer place.”
Sitting in one corner of the blood-stained verandah Das lamented: “Before my brother Purshottam lal could reach safety, another shell landed in our courtyard and it destroyed everything. I lost four members of my family in a span of few minutes.” Rajesh Kumar, Kajal Devi, Satya Devi also received splinter injuries and could not survive, he added. livestock was also hit badly.
The intensity of the shelling was such that it destroyed a large number of houses in some of the worst-affected villages, namely Pindi, Kaku-de-Kothe, Channa and Mashan-de-Kothe in Arnia sector. The roofs of many houses were destroyed by mortar shelling while walls of more than 50 houses were dotted with sharp splinters. During the day the local markets wore a deserted look in the affected villages.
The villagers claimed that Pakistan Rangers deliberately targeted these civilian areas to spread panic and pressurize the Indian Government into opening a dialogue with them on the Kashmir issue. Panic-stricken residents of villages that come in the direct line of fire shifted to safer places during the day fearing fresh escalation of tension along the border.
According to villagers and shopkeepers in the area, during the 45-day-long stand-off between the two neighbouring countries in July-August 2014 the civilian areas were not made targets with such precision. “We cannot go back to our houses now as they are totally ruined and it will be impossible to live in them until substantial repairs have been made,” Kulbhushan told The Pioneer.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Army also chose to escalate tensions along the line of Control in Poonch by resorting to two back-to-back incidents of ceasefire violations. According to Defence PRO in Jammu, the first ceasefire violation took place in Bhimber Gali area of Poonch around 8.30 am while the second ceasefire violation took place around 5.40 pm in Kerni sector of Poonch.