The New Year has begun on a bloody note for Jammu & Kashmir. After terrorists gunned down four civilians on Sunday, a powerful IED blast planted by them killed two children on Monday in the thickly-forested Dhangri village, located barely 8 kms from Rajouri district headquarters.
Four-year-old Vihan was declared dead by doctors at the Government Medical College Hospital, Rajouri. The second child, identified as Samiksha, succumbed to her injuries after she was operated upon.
The IED, according to police, was planted by the terrorists in the same village late Sunday night where they had killed four civilians on day one of the New Year by pumping bullets from a close range.
One of the youngest civilians, identified as Deepak Kumar, was supposed to join the government service as he had been selected for the same.
The terrorists are believed to have selected a Hindu-dominated village to target the civilians in a bid to stoke up communal tension in the region.
Local villagers claimed the terrorists reportedly verified the identity of the four civilians before killing them on Sunday.
The majority of residents in the village were cooking dinner at the time of the terror attack on Sunday. Half cooked vegetables, open dishes, and plates lay scattered on the floor of the kitchens when security personnel arrived there to track down the footprints of the terrorists.
One of the local residents, identified as Bala, managed to save several lives as he retaliated against the fire, forcing the terrorists to flee the area under the cover of darkness.
On the Monday’s blast, Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh claimed the armed terrorists reportedly planted the powerful IED’s in the area to inflict maximum injuries to the locals.
According to Additional Director General of Police, Mukesh Singh, four civilians were killed and six others received bullet injuries after two heavily armed terrorists barged inside the houses of local villagers in Dhangri late on Sunday.
After the terror attack, angry residents vent their ire against the local police and district administration claiming the village defence committees were directed to deposit their weapons in the nearby police stations.
Bharat Bhushan Vaid, Vice Chairman of the Municipal Council, Rajouri, told reporters that the members of the village defence committees should be equipped with the automatic weapons to deal with the threat posed by the terrorists.
Bhushan said for a long time Rajouri has witnessed incidents of terrorist violence but instead of taking adequate measures the local police and civil authorities have been ignoring the security concerns raised by the residents.
On Monday morning, the local residents staged protest demonstrations by placing the dead bodies in the middle of the road. The DGP along with ADGP Mukesh Singhg, Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, BJP J&K chief Ravinder Raina and others visited the spot to pacify the angry residents, but in vain.
The members of the deceased families and local villagers insisted on performing the cremation ceremony only after meeting LG Manoj Sinha. Late evening LG Sinha reached Rajouri and met members of the families who had lost their loved ones. The LG had earlier announced an ex-gratia of `10 lakh and a Government job to the next of kin of each of those civilians killed in the attack. Seriously injured would be given `1 lakh, he added.
The LG also assured local residents that the Central Government and the UT administration are keen on wiping out the terror ecosystem from Jammu & Kashmir. DGP Dilbagh Singh also assured the local residents that it is high time to further strengthen the village defence committees.