Rajouri,
On Republic Day, the Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked heavy mortar shelling and automatic weapon firing on Indian forward posts and civil areas in the Nowshera subdivision of Rajouri district around 5.30 pm.

Immediately after Pakistan started targeting villages along the Line of Control, the Army units deployed in the forward areas sounded an alert, signalling the people to remain inside their homes or at safer places.

“As the community and individual bunkers are under construction, residents of Sair, Makri, Jhangar and Kalsian ran for shelter inside their houses and under the culverts,” said Purshotam Lal, former sarpanch of Jhangar village.

Eight members of the family of formerBSF man Tola Ram had a narrow escape in Makri village as a 120-mm mortar shell hit the roof of their concrete house minutes after they had left home following the alert by the Army.

The family took shelter under an already identified culvert (converted into a bunker) but Tola Ram received splinter injuries while rushing towards the culvert. “The splinters of the mortar shell that fell on the roof of our house hit me on the feet and legs. We had a narrow escape as many mortar shells fell near our house,” said Tola Ram.

The Army retaliated to Pakistani shelling effectively. The guns finally fell silent around 6.30 pm.

“After the shelling stopped, an ambulance was rushed to Makri and Tola Ram was shifted to a hospital at Nowshera. He is under treatment and is out of danger. After assessing the loss to their house, the case for relief would be forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner’s office,” said Abdul Sattar, SDM, Nowshera.

He said all lambardars and ex-sarpanches had been provided telephone numbers of the police officers and tehsil officers concerned so that people could contact them in case of any skirmish on the LoC.