Soldier killed, another wounded in Pakistani shelling in Nowshera

Mangalore Today News Network

Jammu, Jun 16, 2017: A soldier was killed and another injured in Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Friday morning, officials said.


The dead soldier was identified as Naik Bakhtawar Singh of 8 Sikh Light Infantry, and a resident of Hajipur village in Punjab’s Hoshiyarpur district.

“Pakistan Army opened heavy fire around 4am and the exchange lasted for around 20 minutes. During brief exchanges, two Indian soldiers were injured at Kalsian. One of them died around 5am,” an intelligence official said.

Nowshera sub-divisional magistrate Harbans Lal Sharma and Nowshera police station head Kuldip Krishan confirmed that the soldier died around 5am when he was hit by a mortar shell at a forward post in Kalsian area of Nowshera sector.

However, the army was yet to issue a statement on it.

The identity of the injured soldier has not been ascertained yet.

Since May 1, when Pakistan’s BAT killed and mutilated two Indian soldiers — JCO Paramjit Singh and BSF head constable Prem Sagar in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch — there have been firing incidents along the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts.

Three civilians — Akhter Bi, Tuffail Hussain, Asyia Bi — and army man Bakhtawar Singh have been killed, and 11 people, including five soldiers, have been injured, all in Nowshera sector.

Pakistan has been continuously violating the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India, and the firing and shelling has left the hapless villagers in a precarious situation. Nearly 3,000 villagers continue to put up in five relief camps set up in Nowshera.

Courtesy: Hindustantimes