Twenty civilians were injured as Pakistani troops shelled Indian villages with mortar bombs by targeting hamlets and border outposts (BoPs) in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts along the International Border (IB) in the Jammu region for the eighth day today, prompting a strong and effective retaliation by the BSF. Hundreds of panic-stricken villagers fled their houses and took shelter either at the houses of relatives or relief camps set up by the government at safer places.
All educational institutions in the affected areas remained closed. "The Pakistan Rangers indulged in heavy and indiscriminate shelling of mortar bombs and firing of small arms and automatic weapons tonight, targeting villages in the Ramgarh and Samba sectors," a police officer told PTI. Fifteen persons -- 13 in the Ramgarh sector, two in the Samba sector -- were injured in the firing and shelling in Samba district, he said, adding that of them, 11 were sent to the GMC Hospital in Jammu, while the remaining four were admitted to hospitals in the district.
Earlier, five persons were injured in Pakistani shelling in Jammu district. While Kaushalya Devi (70), Madan Lal Bhagat (48), Des Raj (52) and Thudu Ram (65) were injured in the Arnia and R S Pura sectors of Jammu district, Aman Singh (22) of Bobiyan village was injured in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district, officials said. They added that the firing from across the border was intense as 80 mm and 120 mm mortar shells hit dozens of villages, including Jora Farm -- a hamlet of milkmen -- in the morning. However, emergency services personnel managed to reach the villages along the IB here, despite the shelling, the officials said. They added that the firing had stopped at most of the places in the afternoon, but was still going on intermittently at a few places in Samba district. PTI
