At least four civilians were killed and six were injured after two suspected militants opened fire on three houses in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Sunday evening, reported PTI.
“A firing incident happened at Upper Dangri village,” Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Singh told ANI. “Firing took place at three houses, separated at a distance of around 50 metres from each other.”
The Jammu and Kashmir Police, Central Reserve Police Force and Army troops have cordoned off the area and are conducting a search operation for the two gunmen, Singh told ANI.
The victims have been identified as Satish Kumar (45), Deepak Kumar (23), Pritam Lal (57) and Shishu Pal (32), reported PTI citing unidentified officials. Meanwhile, the injured have been identified as Pawan Kumar (38), Rohit Pandit (27), Saroj Bala (35), Ridham Sharma (17) and Pawan Kumar (32).
The gunshots were first heard at 7 pm on Sunday and its intensity increased after some time, Dangri village head Deeraj Kumar told PTI. “It is after a long time that such targeted killings were carried out in the area,” Kumar told the news agency.
An unidentified official said that 10 persons were hit by bullets, three of whom were dead by the time they were brought to the Government Medical College Hospital in Rajouri. Another person, who was critically injured, succumbed to his wounds while being airlifted to Jammu, the official said.
Meanwhile, on Monday morning, one child died and five persons were left injured after an explosion took place in the same village, Singh told ANI. The Improvised Explosive Device, or IED explosion, took place at one of the houses where the gun attack had taken place on Sunday evening.
Security forces defused another IED which they found in the area.
The Congress on Sunday described Sunday’s attack as a conspiracy against the minority Hindu community in the region, reported PTI.
“We vehemently condemn the terror attack by Pakistani-backed terrorists against the minority community in Rajouri,” Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma told the news agency. “It is a conspiracy against them.”
Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah also expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased. “Deeply shocked as more details emerge of this targeted attack in Rajouri district of Jammu,” he wrote in a tweet. “I unequivocally condemn this heinous attack and send my condolences to the families of the deceased. I hope those injured in this attack will make a swift and complete recovery.”
Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti called out the Bharatiya Janata Party for its claims of ending militancy in the region by abrogating Article 370.
“Despite being under BJP rule and its bogus claims of ending militancy, violence continues unabated,” the former Chief minister of the state said. “Had J&K had its own elected government, the same media would have hauled them over the coals.”
Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina called the attack an act of “utter cowardice by Pakistani terrorists,” reported PTI.
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