Security forces retaliate effectively
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 26: Two Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers and a woman were injured and many civilians deserted their houses to take shelter in safer areas as Pakistani Rangers resorted to heavy firing and shelling along the International Border in Arnia and Suchetgarh sectors of this district tonight.
The BSF personnel retaliated effectively.
“Tonight at about 2000 hours, unprovoked firing started by Pak Rangers on BSF posts in Arnia area which is being befittingly retaliated by the BSF troops,” a BSF spokesman said.
Locals said the Pakistani Rangers initially started firing at 8 pm targeting half a dozen forward villages in Arnia sector. Later, they expanded firing to three villages of Suchetgarh sector also along the International Border.
Few mortar shells were fired by the Rangers targeting civilian areas.
Several posts of the BSF also came under firing.
Police officials and locals said heavy firing continued till 11 pm after which intermittent firing was on.
Two BSF jawans were injured in the firing in Arnia sector. They have been identified as Basavraj SR, 30, hailing from Karnataka and Sher Singh. Injured woman was identified as Rajni Bala, 38, wife of Balbir Singh, resident of Ward 5, Arnia. They were evacuated from the site of firing and admitted in the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu where their condition was stated to be stable.
Panic gripped border dwellers as firing started from the Pakistan side. A number of labourers, who had come to work in fields of the locals, were first to desert the villages to take shelter in safer areas.
Later, some locals also moved to other villages where there was less impact of firing.
Latest round of firing and shelling comes over a week after two BSF personnel were injured following unprovoked firing by the Rangers in the same Arnia sector around the same time on October 17.
There have been more than dozen ceasefire violations between India and Pakistan signed fresh agreement on February 25, 2021 to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, today’s firing and shelling came after several years resulting into fear in the minds of locals reviving their old memories when several civilians were killed and injured and cattle perished in heavy shelling and firing by the Rangers. Pakistani Rangers had suffered very heavy losses in the Indian retaliation.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
