A 24-year-old woman was killed on Tuesday in heavy shelling allegedly by the Pakistan Army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu’s Poonch district, officials said.
A senior police officer said Shameema Akhtar, a resident of Noona-Bandi, was killed in the Pakistani shelling in the Shahpur sector while four buffaloes also perished in the shelling on forward villages and posts since Tuesday morning.
Poonch District Development Commissioner Rahul Yadav said the woman was killed after intense exchange of firing, “Heavy exchange of fire started early morning after which a lady sustained injuries. She was hit by a shell and died on the spot,” he said.
“We have sanctioned an ex-gratia relief of Rs one lakh to the next of kin of slain immediately while as Red Cross has released Rs 10,000,” he said.
LoC has been witnessing tensions since abrogation of Article 370 on August 5. Earlier a porter was killed in Uri sector while as dozens of residential houses were damaged.
Earlier, a defence spokesperson said the Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire by resorting to small-arms firing and mortar shelling in the Qasba and Kirni sectors of Poonch around 9.30 am.
Meanwhile, a soldier was killed and another was injured critically when a mine exploded at Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir on Tuesday, official sources said.
They said a landmine exploded at LoC in Nougam sector when a patrolling party was passing the area this morning. Two soldiers were injured in the blast, they said adding the injured were shifted to nearby medical camp where one of them succumbed.
Security forces have intensified foot and night patrolling all along the LoC to foil any infiltration bid from Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK), where several hundred militants are waiting in launch pads to sneak into this side before the higher reaches are closed due to snowfall.
A soldier was killed when Pak troops violated ceasefire and targeted forward positions and civilian areas in Uri sector in north Kashmir on Monday.
Earlier, a defence spokesperson said the Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire by resorting to small-arms firing and mortar shelling in the Qasba and Kirni sectors of Poonch around 9.30 am. The Indian Army retaliated effectively to silence the Pakistani guns, but the casualties suffered by the other side were not known immediately, he said.
A police official said the firing intensified as the day passed and spread to the nearby Shahpur sector, causing panic among the border residents. Most of the people stayed indoors, the official said, adding that Akhtar was hit by splinters after a mortar shell landed near her. Several houses suffered damages in the cross-border shelling, he said.
A heavy exchange of fire was going on when the last reports were received, the official added.
Earlier, two Army jawans were killed in two separate incidents of ceasefire violation in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri district and the Uri sector in Baramulla district on Friday and Sunday respectively.