Seven persons, including a senior Jammu and Kashmir government official, a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of army and a BSF Sub Inspector , were killed and over 20 others injured as intense mortar shelling by Pakistan hit the Jammu region on Saturday, officials said.
Raj Kumar Thapa, Additional District Development Commissioner, Rajouri, and his two staff members were seriously injured when an artillery shell hit his official residence in Rajouri town, the officials said.
They were rushed to the Government Medical College where Thapa succumbed to his injuries, they said.
Subedar Major Pawan Kumar, a resident of Himachal Pradesh, laid down his life when a Pakistani artillery shell exploded near his post in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch this morning, the officials said.
A BSF Sub Inspector was also killed in Pakistan troops shelling along the International Border.
Two more persons — two-year-old Aisha Noor and Mohd Shohib (35) — were killed and three others were injured in Pakistani shelling near an industrial area in Rajouri town, the officials said.
According to the officials, a 55-year-old woman named Rashida Bi lost her life when a mortar shell hit her house at Kanghra-Galhutta village in Mendhar sector of Poonch district.
Three more persons were also injured in intense shelling in Poonch and were evacuated to a hospital, they said, adding that a local journalist was injured in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri.
Zakir Hussain (45) was killed and two others, including a girl, were injured in Pakistani shelling in Kheri Keran village of Bantalab in the outskirts of Jammu, the officials said.
Four persons were injured when artillery shells and suspected drones hit some residential areas in Jammu, including Rehari and Roop Nagar in Jammu city.
Tensions between India and Pakistan soared significantly after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages