Jammu, July 24: Nine soldiers among 11 people were killed while 16 others injured in the incidents of cross- border firing this month along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
Amid one of the worst fatalities in recent times, the month also saw over 110 livestock falling prey to incidents of shelling and firing in which nearly 35 structures, including over two dozen houses were damaged along the LoC in Rajouri district alone.
In the wake of repeated firing and shelling, over 4,000 people from borders areas had to be shifted to safer places in the district.
“The month has seen greater ceasefire violations along LoC in the state. The aim was to engineer infiltrations and push in more and more militants in J&K,” said a senior Army officer adding that Indian forces too aptly retaliated to the shellings by Pakistani army.
On July 21, 28-year-old rifleman Jayadrath Singh was killed when Pakistan army resorted to firing at Indian Army posts in Sunderbandi sector of Rajouri district.
Singh belonged to village Bhagwanpur of Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh. He is survived by his wife Mamta Devi.
A juniour commissioned officer, Subedar Shashi Kumar, who was grievously injured in a ceasefire breach in Naushera on July 18, died at Udhampur Command Hospital on July 19.
Subedar Kumar was a native of Galon village of Hamirpur district in Himachal Pradesh. He is survived by his wife Santosh Sharma and children.
The July 18 ceasefire violations also saw two Army soldiers, Sepoy Jaspreet Singh, 24 and Rifleman Bimal Sinjali, 21 killed in Naushera and Nowgam sectors of Rajouri and Kupwara districts respectively.
Eight people including five soldiers had suffered injuries that day.
“More than 110 livestock were reported dead and two dozen houses damaged.
A total of 35 structures including private houses, government buildings including schools, were damaged in recent mortar shelling in Nowshera,” said Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary.
Earlier on July 17, one Army man and a girl were killed in Rajouri and Poonch districts.
The victims were identified as 37-year-old Naik Muddasar Ahmed of Tral belt of south Kashmir and 9- year-old girl Sajada.
On July 15, another soldier, Lance Naik Mohmmad Naseer, 35 was killed and yet another injured in Pak shelling along the LoC in Rajouri district.
Two other soldiers, Lance Naik Ranjit Singh and Rifleman Satesh Bhagat, both of Jammu, were killed along LoC on July 12, in Pakistani firing in Keran sector of North Kashmir sector.
Four days earlier on July 8, jawan Mohmmad Showkat, who was on leave, was killed along with his wife, when his house was hit by a Pakistani army’s mortar shell in Poonch sector.
Four people were injured.
The officials said there have been 23 incidents of ceasefire violations, one attack by Pakistan’s Border Action Team and two infiltration bids by Pakistan- backed militants in June in which 4 people, including three soldiers were killed and 12 injured.
On June 29, two Indian Army jawans were injured when Pakistani troops fired from small arms and shelled mortars on forward posts and civilian areas along the LoC in Poonch district.
On the occasion of Eid-ul Fitr on June 26, the Pakistani army had fired small arms and automatic weapons and shelled mortars along the LoC in Bhimbher Gali sector of Rajouri.
On June 22, in the third such attack this year, a team of Pakistani special forces sneaked 600 metres across the LoC into the Poonch sector and killed two Indian soldiers, but lost one Border Action Team (BAT) member in retaliatory action.
It had carried out the attack at around 2 PM on an Army patrol party in the Gulpur belt of Poonch on 22 June under heavy cover fire by Pakistani troops.
In the firefight, two Indian soldiers, Naik Jadhav Sandip, 34, of Aurangabad and Sepoy Mane Savan Balku, 24, of Kolhapur were killed.
Nine soldiers, two civilians killed in July in Indo-Pak LoC fights
