JAMMU: Army today foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Poonch district, a day after India lodged a strong protest with Pakistan over ceasefire violations.
There was suspected movement of a group of three to four militants along the LoC in Krishnagati forward area of Poonch at 0830 hours, a defence spokesperson said.
“They were spotted 150 metres inside own LOC and they were challenged”, the spokesman said.
“However, the terrorists continued to close in towards our post (in order to attack it as per Border Action Team pattern) in the area, following which they were fired upon by own alert troops,” he said.
The terrorists dispersed in the jungle following the firing which lasted for five to ten minutes, he said, adding that search operations are in progress.
“This is the second attempt at infiltration in the past six days in this sector,” he said.
On January 13, Army had foiled an infiltration bid along LoC in Krishnagati forward area in Poonch.
“During the Brigade Commander level flag meeting conducted at Poonch yesterday, the Indian Army’s concerns about this unchecked infiltration were conveyed in strong terms to the Pakistani delegation,” the spokesman said.
There have been a number of intelligence reports about increased attempts at infiltration by terrorists from across the Line of Control to carry out disruptive activities around Republic Day, he said.
The Army has placed its troops on high alert along the Line of Control and the high level of preparedness helped prevent the two infiltration attempts, he said.
“We have lodged a strong protest with Pakistan Army authorities over the ceasefire violations along LoC in Poonch at the brigadier-level flag meeting,” a senior Army officer told reporters.
The flag meeting between the two countries continued for an hour-and-a-half at Chakan-Da-Bagh forward post on the LoC.
“Pakistan authorities denied ceasefire violations from their side as usual,” the Army officer said, adding the meeting was held in a cordial and conducive atmosphere.
Indian officials are reported to have told their counterparts not to allow infiltration of militants and BAT attacks, warning that troops guarding the border will give a befitting reply in case of any violation.
Following a large number of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops on the LoC last year, the DGMOs of the two countries had met at Wagah near Amritsar after 14 years on December 24, 2013.
There have been 196 ceasefire violations along the LoC in J&K last year, the highest in last one decade. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI : A three-member team of senior doctors at AIIMS here today began post-mortem on the body of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, even as police continued to probe various angles including suicide in the case.
Hours after his wife was found dead, the 57-year-old Union Minister of State for Human Resources was admitted to AIIMS after complaining of chest pain.
Sudhir Gupta, Head of Forensic Sciences Department at AIIMS said the post-mortem is being videographed to ensure transparency in the procedure.
Pushkar was found dead in her suite at the Leela Palace hotel last evening and the body was shifted to AIIMS at around 3:30 AM for post-mortem.
Tharoor was admitted to the ICU of the cardiothoracic centre of the AIIMS and a number of investigations including ECG were carried out on him. The Minister was discharged at around 12 noon.
Doctors said he was brought to the hospital with a “cardiac condition” but he is stable now.
Continuing investigation, police questioned a number of hotel staff and checked the CCTV footage of the lobby of the third floor of the luxury hotel where she was staying.
Sources in police said call details record as well as Pushkar’s tweets were being checked. Pushkar and Tharoor had checked into the hotel on Thursday as their home was being painted.
A number of hotel staff, including those who had gone to her suite, were being questioned to corroborate the version of Tharoor and his staff.
Pushkar and Tharoor were at the centre of a raging controversy when reports emerged that she was upset over reported text and tweet messages between her husband and Mehr Tarar, a Pakistani journalist.
Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said inquest proceedings have been initiated by the sub-divisional magistrate of the area. Any death within seven years of marriage is legally required to be investigated by the sub-divisional magistrate.
Gupta said the post-mortem will take at least two hours and after that the findings will be scrutinised and, if needed to be shared, will be given to the media.
Pushkar and Tharoor had checked into the hotel on Thursday as their home was being painted.
A joint statement from the couple on Thursday said that they were “happily married” but distressed by “some unauthorised tweets”.
Pushkar had accused Tarar of “stalking” her husband and trying to “break” her marriage when she was away for medical treatment.
She had told couple of newspapers that she was considering divorce from Tharoor in the wake of the alleged extra-marital affair.
The Pakistani journalist rubbished the charges of having any relationship with Tharoor, who is Congress Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram.
After Pushkar’s death Tarar had tweeted: “I just woke up and read this. I’m absolutely shocked. This is too awful for words. So tragic I don’t know what to say. Rest in peace, Sunanda.”
Asked about the cause of death, Delhi Police Spokesperson Rajan Bhagat had said there is no apparent sign which can reveal that. (AGENCIES)

MUMBAI: At least 18 people were killed and 40 injured when a stampede broke out in the Malabar Hill area where a huge crowd had gathered to pay last respects to the spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community in the wee hours today.
The incident occurred after 1 AM when hundreds of people had gathered to pay last respects to the spiritual leader of Dawoodi Bohra community, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, who died yesterday at the age of 102, civic officials said.
After learning of his death, his followers had started thronging his house, which is in the vicinity of the official residence of the Maharashtra Chief Minister, and soon a stampede broke out.
The injured have been admitted to the Saifee Hospital.
Dawoodi Bohra is a sect of Shia Muslims spread all over the world. One of the key principles of the sect is “patriotism as part of the faith.”
The 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq of the worldwide Dawoodi Bohra community, the leader was the eldest son of Syedna Taher Saifuddin. He succeeded his father upon his death in 1965.
He was credited with transforming Dawoodi Bohras into a vibrant community and honoured with highest civilian titles like the Star of Jordan and Order of the Nile by the respective governments of Jordan and Egypt.
Syedna was conferred Honorary Doctorates for his efforts in social and educational development by renowned institutes like Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Aligarh Muslim University and University of Karachi. (AGENCIES)