2 jawans killed in Indo-Pak shelling
India and Pakistan troops late Friday on night traded fire again along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Though no casualties were reported, two of the three Indian soldiers who were injured in Pakistani artillery fire earlier on Friday succumbed at a nearby Army medical facility early on Saturday.
The slain soldiers have been identified as Havaldar Gokharan Singh and Naik Shankar S.P. Coy. A defence spokesman said they were hit in the Pakistani shelling in Hajipir area of the Rampur sector of the LoC on Friday.
Meanwhile, an Army jawan was killed and another wounded when a hand grenade went off accidentally inside their post in Karnah area close to the LoC in Kupwara district on Saturday. The Army and police sources said that the incident occurred during a military drill at Jal Post of the Army in Karnah sector.
“The grenade being carried by a soldier exploded accidentally resulting in the injuries to two jawans Naiks Joginder Singh and Jitendra Singh. They were immediately evacuated to a nearby medical facility where the former succumbed,” a police officer said.
Latest reports from Baramulla said that the Pakistani troops resorted to artillery shelling in a couple of areas along the de facto border in Uri late on Friday night.
The defence spokesman said that the Indian Army retaliated “befittingly”. A local said over the phone that the guns fell silent soon.
Earlier, during the day on Friday, apart from three soldiers, five civilians including two minors were injured as several mortar bombs fired from across the LoC landed in Uri’s Churanda village. This created panic in
Churanda and several neighbouring hamlets including Batgran, Hathlanga, Mothal, Sahoora, Silikote, Balkote, Nambla and Garkote areas. The police said that some splinters even landed in main town of Uri. The locals said that it was the first time since 1998 that bullets hit the town.
The Indian Army said that the ceasefire violations were initiated by the Pakistani troops and that it only retaliated to their “unprovoked” shelling.