Jammu/Pathankot: Six persons were killed and eight BSF personnel were among several injured in fresh mortar shelling and drone strikes by Pakistani military Saturday, leaving on the edge lakhs of people in India’s border districts where debris of unidentified projectiles were found and a crater was formed in an agricultural field.
Residents of villages near the Line of Control (LoC) in three districts of Kashmir were seen leaving their homes in droves with officials saying nearly 1.10 lakh people from Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara have moved to safer places as houses and government buildings have been hit by Pakistani shells.
Eight BSF personnel were injured in Pakistani shelling along the international border (IB) in Jammu’s R S Pura sector. They are being treated at a military medical facility.
In Jammu’s Rajouri, Additional District Development Commissioner Raj Kumar Thapa and his two staff members were seriously injured when an artillery shell hit his official residence in the town, officials said.
They were shifted to the nearby Government Medical College where Thapa succumbed to injuries.
Subedar Major Pawan Kumar, a resident of Himachal Pradesh, was killed when a Pakistani artillery shell exploded near his post in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch this morning.
Two-year-old Aisha Noor and Mohammad Shohib (35) were killed and three others injured in Pakistani shelling near an industrial area in Rajouri town, the officials said.
A 55-year-old woman named Rashida Bi also lost her life when a mortar shell hit her house at Kanghra-Galhutta village in Mendhar sector of Poonch district.
In another incident, Ashok Kumar alias Shoki, a resident of Bidipur Jatta village, was killed in cross-border firing in the R S Pura, the officials said.
Three more persons were also injured in intense shelling in Poonch and were evacuated to a hospital, they said, adding a local journalist was injured in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri.
Zakir Hussain (45) was killed and two others, including a girl, were injured in Pakistani shelling in Kheri Keran village of Bantalab in the outskirts of Jammu, the officials said.
Four persons were injured when artillery shells and suspected drones hit some residential areas in Jammu, including Rehari and Roop Nagar in Jammu city.
The fresh strikes followed after Pakistan launched a wave of drone attacks targeting 26 locations in India — from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat — for the second night on Friday.
The locations included Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota and Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir, Ferozpur, Pathankot and Fazilka in Punjab, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer and Barmer in Rajasthan, and Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala in Gujarat.
In Punjab, debris of unidentified projectiles was found in Beas in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Pathankot and Dubli village in Tarn Taran districts.
In Gurdaspur’s village Rajubela Chhichhran, residents said a crater — around 35 feet wide and 15 feet deep — was formed following a loud blast in the early hours of Saturday.
A police official said no one was hurt in the incident. However, there was damage to electrical wires in the incident.
After learning about the crater in the field, many curious villagers, including youngsters, reached the site and started clicking pictures on their mobile phones.
In Phagwara, an unidentified object fell in a field between Khalyan and Sahni villages in Phagwara district early Saturday, officials said.
Locals said an explosion-like sound was heard around 2.40 am from the fields at Khalyan village towards Sahni.
The impact of the unidentified object created a crater about 7-8 feet deep and 12-14 feet wide in the field, the officials said.
Some parts of the unidentified object were found lying scattered in the field.
Authorities have asked people not to touch any part of any unidentified projectile lying on ground and to inform local police about it.
An unidentified projectile also landed in a residential area at Kanganiwal village in Jalandhar district early morning.
The locals said a migrant labourer was injured in the incident, while a few houses in the area also sustained damages.
Pathankot went into alert mode after explosion-like sounds were heard in the border district early morning, with the local authorities ordering closure of markets in the region as a precautionary measure.
After a night of bristling tension, people woke up to explosion-like sounds in Pathankot and Jalandhar districts, while air sirens rang out in Hoshiarpur, Amritsar and Ferozepur amid a sharp upturn in the military conflict between India and Pakistan.
Punjab shares a 532-km border with Pakistan.
In Haryana’s Sirsa too, some locals claimed they heard blast-like sounds after midnight.
A high alert was also issued in the border districts of Rajasthan on Saturday amid threats of potential strikes by Pakistan, officials said.
The district administrations and police officials have asked residents to remain indoors and avoid unnecessary movement.
In Barmer, warning sirens were sounded to alert people about the seriousness of the situation. Police teams have also intensified patrolling and announcements were made via police vehicles and public address systems to inform the public about the alert.
Markets in Barmer and Jaisalmer have also been closed as a precautionary measure.
A similar situation was observed in the Bikaner and Sri Ganganagar districts, where a high alert was also declared.
Multiple drone attacks were attempted by Pakistan on the night of Friday in Jaisalmer and Barmer districts. However, the drones were neutralized mid-air by the Indian defence forces.
Debris of suspected drones were found at different locations in Barmer and Jaisalmer district Saturday morning.
Tensions between India and Pakistan soared significantly after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages.
India shares a total of 3,323 km of border with Pakistan, divided into three parts: the International Border (IB), approximately 2,400 km from Gujarat to the northern banks of the Chenab river in Akhnoor, Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC), running from parts of Jammu to parts of Leh; and the Actual Ground Position Line, 110 km long, dividing the Siachen region from NJ 9842 to Indira Col in the north.
