Poonch/Jammu: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Friday reached out to the shelling-hit Poonch district to distribute compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of each family that lost members in Pakistani offensive and urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to provide them jobs.
Thirteen people, including four children and a soldier, were killed and 57 injured as the Pakistan army carried out one of the most intense artillery and mortar shelling incidents in years, targeting Poonch town and forward villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. This followed Indian missile strikes on nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor on May 7.
A team led by SGPC head Harjinder Singh Dhami and Bhupinder Singh of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee visited Poonch town.
They came to express their grief and solidarity with the affected families of the Sikh community residing in the border district during this difficult time.
They also visited the families of Balvinder Kour alias Ruby, Amrik Singh, Ranjeet Singh and Amarjeet Singh who died in the Pakistani shelling on the Guru Singh Sabha Sahib Gurdwara and a Sikh house on May 7.
They presented a compensation amount of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased and also provided aid to the injured.
“We have come here to meet the affected families, express our condolences and share their grief. Poonch bore the brunt of the worst Pakistani shelling during hostilities between India and Pakistan,” Dhami told reporters here.
He said three Sikhs died in the shelling in the Gurdwara area.
“The deaths of family members are devastating. It is a big trauma for these families,” he said, adding that they came with a little financial help.
Urging support from the central and state governments, he said, “I urge Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to provide a job to one kin of each family who lost a member in the shelling. It will help sustain their families.”
They also announced support for the education of children who lost their parents in the shelling.
The Pakistan army’s shelling caused extensive damage in the civilian areas of Poonch, leading to the death of 13 people in the district. One shell hit a corner of the Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara. Another hit Geeta Bhawan and yet another struck a mosque, killing a teacher.
Three members of the Sikh community were killed when a shell hit the Guru Singh Sabha Sahib Gurdwara. The “ragi” at the shrine, Amrik Singh (55), along with Amarjeet Singh (47) and Ranjeet Singh (48) died in the attack. In another incident, 33-year-old Balvinder Kour alias Ruby lost her life in the area.
