Border flares up, two more civilians injured

Jammu, May 22: A 70-year-old woman was among two persons injured as Pakistani Rangers opened fire and lobbed mortars along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir early Tuesday, triggering panic among border residents and forcing many to take shelter in government-run camps.
“The cross-border firing and shelling continued unabated and has spread to all sectors from Akhnoor to Samba along the IB,” a senior BSF official told PTI.
He said BSF troops guarding the border retaliated effectively and exchanges between the two sides were continuing when reports last came in. Inspector General of Police, Jammu, S D Singh Jamwal said one person was injured in the fresh firing in the worst-hit Arnia sector of Jammu district.
Madan Lal Bhagat, a resident of Pindi Charkan village of Arnia, was hit by splinters in the abdomen and foot after a mortar shell hit his house in the early hours on Tuesday, the officials said adding he has been admitted to the Government Medical College.
Police said a 70-year-old woman identified as Kaushalya Devi was also injured in the firing. Jamwal said police parties have been deployed and are helping people shift to safer places from affected areas.
Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Hemant Kumar Sharma said relief camps have been activated at safer places all along the IB especially in R S Pura and Arnia sectors which witnessed heavy mortar shelling by Pakistan over the past two days.
Hundreds of people have reported at these camps set up in educational institutions and other government buildings, Sharma said. He said adequate facilities have been made available at these camps so that the displaced people do not face any problem.
He said all schools vulnerable to Pakistani shelling have been closed along the IB as a precautionary measure.
The latest round of cross-border shelling started on May 15 when BSF claimed to foil two infiltration attempts in Samba sector of Jammu.
So far seven persons including two BSF soldiers and an infant have been killed and 18 others injured in the ongoing exchange of fire between India and Pakistan.
The state has witnessed a spurt in shelling and firing along the IB and the LoC this year. Over 700 such incidents have been reported this year, which have left a total of 39 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured.